
Class. 
Book. 



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Copight]^^. 



CDJBXRIGHT DEEOSm 



^^That the man of God may be perfect, 
throughly furnished unto all good works.^' 

—2 Tim. 3:17. 



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Your Home Your 
College 

or 

^^Throughly Furnished^^ 



Rev. Arthur K. White, A. M. 

Dean of Alma College and Zarephath Academy 



Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 

1922 






Cop3night, 1922. by PUlar oflFire 



BtC26?-2 

C1A690717 



^ CONTENTS 

Chapter Pagi 

Introduction . / ix 

Foreword xi 

I Training 17 

II The Care of the Body 24 

III System 34 

IV The Vagabond Mind 48 

V To-day 63 

VI Thoroughness 71 

VII Straighten Up — A Protest Against 

Round Shoulders ..... 77 

VIII Ready On Short Notice, or A Talk 

Chiefly About Clothes ... 86 

IX Manners ... 106 

X Speech 121 

XI Putting Language into Writing . 130 

XII Reading .139 

XIII The Book of Books 146 

XIV Other Books 160 

XV Music 168 

XVI Bearing Responsibility .... 175 

XVII Self-Education 190 

XVIII "Finally, Brethren — Be Perfect'' 205 

APPENDIX 

Part I Physical Culture Exercises and 

Notes 213 

Part II Table Etiquette 239 

Part III Correct English Drill Exer- 
cises 244 

Part IV Letter Writing 267 

Part V Cleaning and Pressing Clothes 

. 283 

Bibliography 286 



ILLUSTRATIONS 

The Author iii 

Christ Called Busy Men xi 

The Bigger the Man the Cleaner the 

Desk 37 

Filing Equipment in Modern Business Of- 
fice 41 

Standard Filing Drawer ) 

Common Letter File > . . ... 46 

Card Index Box ) 

''Slab-sided, Round-shouldered'' ... 79 

U. S. Marines ''Washing Up" 96 

Examples of Letter Writing . . . 134-135 
Illustrations of Physical Culture Exer- 
cises 213-224 

Sleeve Board . 285 



DEDICATED TO MY MOTHER 

AND TO THE STUDENTS OF THE SCHOOLS WHICH SHE 
HAS BEEN INSTRUMENTAL IN ESTABLISHING. 




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INTRODUCTION 

THE author of this volume, Arthur K. White, 
is the son of Bishop Alma White, the foun- 
der of the Pillar of Fire movement. He is a 
graduate of Columbia University and has re- 
ceived his Master of Arts degree from Princeton 
University. Mr. White is dean of our Alma 
College in New Jersey, and has had a number of 
years of experience in the training of young men 
and women. He is qualified in every way to speak 
with authority on the subjects herein treated. 

The book is a "golden treasury" of knowl- 
edge, especially for those who desire to reach the 
highest efficiency, and are therefore striving for 
the best spiritual and mental equipment. The 
book is written by an expert, and is packed full 
of essential things. It is a guide and guard to 
character building, and will be read with pleas- 
ure and profit by all who do not wish to become 
"old fogies'' in their habits and thinking. 

The substance of many of these chapters 
was delivered as lectures at various times to 
students and Christian workers, and the favor 
with which they were received, and the desire to 
help a wider circle, has induced the author to put 
them in this permanent form. The subjects here 

IX 



X INTRODUCTION 

treated are vitally related to successful living, and 
cannot cease to be interesting and helpful to per- 
sons of every age and profession of life. The book 
has a definite and very practical aim, and covers 
a field which must engage the attention of every 
person seeking to make life a success. The chap- 
ters that deal especially with the care of the body, 
the training of the mind, and correct speech, are 
brimful of practical suggestions and are just 
what the average reader needs to know. The 
appendix, which deals with distinctive qualities 
that lie at the foundation of true culture and be-^ 
long to all illustrious men and women, is worth, 
more than the price of the book. 

Rev. Charles W. Bridwell, A. M. 



FOREWORD 

THOUGH the following chapters deal with a 
variety of things of a material and practical 
nature, much of my inspiration for writing 
them has been derived from Bible study. While 
the Bible is not a treatise on science or a book of 
etiquette, but deals primarily with matters that 
pertain to the salvation of the soul, it is, never- 
theless, concerned with manners, education, train- 
ing, and character building. 

More than the other apostles, St. Paul, I think, 
plays the role of a teacher of practical things. He 
is the college professor of the New Testament. 
His first business was, of course, to preach the 
gospel of a resurrected Christ and, like John the 
Baptist, call men to repentance. That old 
Christian hero, dragging a prisoner's chains 
about, whose scars testified to what he had en-^ 
dured in stonings, beatings, shipwrecks, and wan- 
derings, may not always have presented a very 
handsome appearance; nevertheless, he was a 
man of culture and refinement. As a student of 
human nature, he divined with remarkable keen- 
ness men's purposes, criticised their manners, and 
scrutinized their methods. 

Who was ever more versatile? Polished and 

xr 



XII INTRODUCTION 

courtly in manners as a Lord Chesterfield, Paul 
called forth the admiration of governors and 
princes. As a scholar, his philosophic reasoning 
astonished and bewildered the learned Greeks. 
As a poor man bound in cheerless jails and damp 
dungeons, his patience, forbearance, and heroic 
strength of Christian manhood inspired his fellow 
prisoners with awe, and sent conviction home to 
their hearts. *'A11 things to all men," that he 
^'might by all means save some,'^ he said that he 
Jknew both how to be abased and how to abound, 
and that he could do all things through Christ 
who strengthened him. 

Paul was, first of all, a true Christian, filled 
with the Holy Spirit. He had experienced a won- 
derful conversion and had received the divine 
anointing. His success, however, is not to be at- 
tributed to his conversion alone, wonderful 
though it was. His character was built upon 
foundation principles of honesty and sincerity 
laid down in his youth. The good training he had, 
no doubt, received in his orthodox home contrib- 
uted incalculably toward making him in later 
years a man ^'throughly furnished unto all good 
works" and "approved unto God." 

St. Paul's epistles show that he placed empha- 
sis upon study, disciplining of the mind and body, 
and, in general, upon the development of per- 
sonal efficiency. It is in his letters to Timothy 
that he stands before us very much in the role of 



INTRODUCTION XIII 

teacher and disciplinarian, giving advice and in« 
struction to one of his students in whom he had 
a fond and paternal interest. 

While St. Paul discounted v^orldly wisdom 
that was apart from God, and told how the igno- 
rant and foolish had been divinely chosen to con- 
found the wise and prudent of the world, he did 
not place a premium on ignorance. He was an 
advocate of Christian education. He was ever on 
the lookout for eligible young men whom he could 
train to preach the Gospel. He wanted practised^ 
disciplined, and efficient soldiers of the Cross, able 
to **endure hardness" for the Master and quali- 
fied to become pillars in the Church. He, no doubt, 
gave the young people many lectures on matters 
pertaining to dress, speech, cleanliness, order, 
punctuality, economy, application, modesty, and 
upon other like fundamental, character-develop- 
ing principles, a due regard for which would 
make them examples to all with whom they came 
in contact. He enjoined them to be "not slothful 
in business," to 'Valk circumspectly, not as fools, 
but as wise, redeeming the time," and to '"study" 
to show themselves ''approved unto God as work- 
men that needeth not to be ashamed." 

The wonderful achievements and the glorious 
victories of the Apostle Paul are, in a great meas- 
ure, due to his determination to exercise self- 
control, — ^to master himself. He analyzed his 
human infirmities and weaknesses, and cudgeled 



XIV INTRODUCTION 

his body and faculties into submission which re- 
sulted in remarkable conservation of energy and 
concentration of power. Paul was efficient, tal- 
ented, eloquent, and skilful ; he was a tent-maker, 
a writer, a preacher, a leader, and an organizer. 
There are a few people who imagine that be- 
cause Jesus chose unlearned and unlettered fisher- 
men to preach His Gospel, but little emphasis 
should be placed on refinement of manners and 
speech, or the cultural influences of good litera- 
ture. There have been some who have supposed 
it an indication of piety to allow themselves to re- 
main, like cloistered monks, in utter ignorance of 
the events of the time, — to know nothing of the 
world. If som.e of the disciples were ignorant men 
when Jesus called them, they did not remain un- 
learned. From the hour that they began to follow 
Him they became students under the greatest of 
all teachers. They learned to preach only a simple 
Gospel, but as ministers of such tliey became no- 
tably proficient and powerful. God takes into 
consideration every one's opportunities and ad- 
vantages, and He will surely hold those account- 
able who do not make the best of them. As 
fishermen, Peter, James, and John were doubtless 
well learned in everything that pertained to the 
problems of catching fish. When James and John 
were called, they were busy at their trade, but 
''they left their father Zebedee in the ship with 
the hired servants" and followed Jesus. It is gen- 



INTRODUCTION XV 

^erally understood among successful business men 
that truly capable workmen usually have more 
ivork before them than they have time to handle. 
It is more often the second-rate mechanic who 
has plenty of time between contracts. If you 
want a thing done well, go to the busy man and 
bid for his time. Jesus did not call idlers, but 
T^usy men. He knew that men who were success- 
ful as catchers of fish could, under His direction, 
become successful as catchers of men. 

It is hoped that these chapters may aid busy, 
purposeful Christians, particularly young folk of 
limited means and educational opportunities, to 
achieve all they are striving for in the acquisition 
of useful knowledge and training, and in the im- 
provement of their talents. This volume is de- 
signed to serve as a sort of elRciency handbook for 
student men and women, young or old, who hope 
to render themselves more capable and useful in 
the Master's service, — who are seeking to show 
themselves approved, "throughly furnished unto 
all good works" ; and, in short, for those who, 
in this day of high-speed machinery, and of a so- 
ciety highly organized and complex, are striving 
to meet the greater demands made upon them 
physically, morally, and intellectually. I shall be 
happy if it suggest means of enabling them to 
keep ahead in the great race of life, and encour- 
age them to ''do exploits'' for their God and 
country. A. K. W. 



CHAPTER I 

TRAINING 

''Train up a child in the way he should go: 
and when he is old, he will not depart from it.'' — 
Prov. 22:6. 

WHILE traveling along the road one day in 
an automobile with some friends, I noticed 
coming toward us on foot a youngster 
who, as we drew near, doubled up his fists and 
assumed a fighting attitude. He looked at the 
car in mock defiance as if disputing the right of 
way. He felt himself so strong, that for a cent 
he could have knocked us, car and all, down the 
bank. He had fire in his bones. His sinews were 
all a-tingle with youthful energy. He was ready 
to outclass Hercules in some giant feat. In his 
imagination the very oaks feared they might be 
pulled up by the roots and small houses trembled 
in fear on their foundations. 

If the glory of the old man is his gray hairs 
and that of the young man is his strength, the 
glory of the growing boy is that boundless store 
of bubbling, effervescing energy he knows not 
what to do with. Everything about him, 
mentally and physically, is in fine adjustment. 
Y.H.Y.C— 2. 17 



18 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

His imagination is alive and active; he has keen 
sensibilities. He lives intensely and deeply. He 
is like a locomotive steamed up full, popping off 
every few seconds at the safety valve, anxious 
to hit the grade at the head of a load. He wants 
to do something, pull something, build something, 
or, if he can not build, smash up something. But 
he needs an engineer. He needs to be trained. 
This store of energy must be directed. In him 
is a world of possibilities, and God and the devil 
are bidding for him. 

I once read about a newsboy something illus- 
trating very well the intensity and irrepressi- 
bility of juvenile motive force : 

"Say, son, what do you pay apiece for your 
papers?" asked a gentleman. 

"Fi' cents," replied the newsboy. 

"For how much do you sell them?" the man 
continued. 

"Fi' cents," was the ready answer. 

"But why," asked the man, very much inter- 
ested, by this time, "do you sell them at all when 
you don't make anything?" 

"Aw!" returned the boy, "I don't need'a 
make anything on 'em; I just sell 'em to get a 
chance to holler." 

The young people of to-day are soon to con- 
stitute the citizenship of our nation, and the char- 
acter of that citizenship is dependent upon the 



TRAINING 19 

kind of religious and educational influences that 
determine the direction and flow of youthful 
energy. 

Train, is a good word and one very much 
used at present. We hear a great deal about the 
demand for ^'trained men" in the business world. 
Training means discipline, practise, drill, exer- 
cise, initiation, "being broken in." The raw re- 
cruit needs everything these words imply to be- 
come a well-framed soldier. 

It is not always pleasant to submit to the rig- 
ors of good training, but it pays. One buys skill 
and efficiency at the cost of application and per- 
severance. In an old scrap-book of mine is the 
following from, // / Were a Boy Again, by James 
T. Fields: 

"If I were a boy again, one of the first things 
I would strive to do would be this : I would, as soon 
as possible, try hard to become acquainted with, 
and deal honestly with, myself; to study up my 
own deficiencies and capabilities ; and I would be- 
gin early enough, before faults had time to be- 
come habits. I would seek out earnestly all the 
weak spots in my character, and then go to work 
speedily to mend them with better material. If 
I found that I was capable of some one thing in 
a special degree, I would ask counsel on that point 
of some judicious friend, and if advised to pursue 
it, I would devote myself to that particular mat- 
ter, to the exclusion of much that is foolishly fol- 



20 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

lowed in boyhood. If I were a boy again, I would 
practise perseverance oftener, and never give a 
thing up because it was hard or inconvenient to 
do it. If we want light we must conquer dark- 
ness. When I think of mathematics, I blush at 
the recollection of how often I 'caved in' years ago. 
There is no trait more valuable than a determi- 
nation to persevere when the right thing is to be 
accomplished. We are all inclined to give up too 
easily in trying or unpleasant situations, and the 
point I would establish with myself, if the choice 
were again within my grasp, would be never to 
relinquish hold on a possible success if mortal 
strength or brains, in my case, were adequate to 
the occasion.'^ 

Not only boys and girls, but adult folk are 
often reluctant to submit to the discipline, and 
to make the sacrifices that good training demands. 
There is ever the tendency to follow the lines of 
least resistance, — a natural bent to do as one 
pleases. 

Many people have false notions of freedom. 
Sooner or later the individual must learn that 
everything he wants may not be for his best in- 
terests. What he imagines to be freedom may 
lead him into the worst kind of bondage. The 
baby may feel that it should be her right and priv- 
ilege to play with the hot stove door or Papa's 
razor. She wonders what right Mamma has to 
interfere with her liberty. Experience might 



TRAINING 21 

teach her that her conception of true freedom is 
based on a wrong premise, but Mamma cannot af- 
ford to let her cut her finger off in coming to this 
conclusion. 

Arthur K. Frizell, writing on the subject of 
true and false freedom, says, "When a country- 
bred boy leaves the farm for the city, he rejoices 
at the thought of the freedom which the new 
life offers. He is to be released from the neces- 
sity of early rising, independent of changing 
weather, free to get rich quick, and spend money 
in agreeable ways. But with larger knowledge of 
the world comes a change in his thinking. Spend- 
ing money without restraint means becoming a 
slave to one's appetites. Getting rich turns out 
to be a slow process, to which, moreover, many 
are called, but few chosen. Even a moderate de- 
gree of success involves submission to a far more 
rigid routine than the farmer knows and one 
which eventually becomes a hundred times more 
irksome than patient waiting on seasons of sow- 
ing and reaping. The successful capitalist is apt 
to think of the years when the song of the birds 
at daybreak called him to hard, but healthful la- 
bor as a period of freedom compared with which 
those of his financial achievements seem one of 
gilded bondage, while the multitudes of the un- 
successful feel that they have followed a will-o'- 
the-wisp, sacrificing true freedom for false." 

Why is it the master musician can sit down 



22 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

to the piano and play difficult scales or beautiful 
melodies with such apparent ease and freedom, 
while another, whose unpractised fingers are all 
like thumbs, tries the same keys and calls forth 
only inharmonious and discordant sounds ? How 
can the athlete in a horizontal bar exhibition 
perform wonderful feats with such grace, ease, 
and bodily freedom, while another can not even 
mount the bar without exerting himself almost to 
a state of exhaustion and breathlessness, impress- 
ing one in his dangling, struggling manner, as be- 
ing all arms, legs, and joints. The freedom of 
the musician or the athlete has been acquired 
by an almost slavish observance of rules and 
attention to correct form. It is not great 
strength that enables the gymnast on the horizon- 
tal bar to perform his feats, but the knack, or 
ability to control his muscles and limbs, and to 
keep his body erect or maintaining that form 
which gives him perfect balance. This has to 
be acquired. Freedom comes as a result of sub- 
mitting to discipline, and awkwardness gives 
place to skill. 

There is a stage when the awkward, growing 
boy is ever conscious of his hands and feet in the 
presence of company. He simply cannot keep his 
feet from falling heavily, they feel so immense; 
the more he thinks of his hands, the less he 
knows what to do with them. But let him not be 
discouraged. Grace and ease can be won by 



TRAINING 23 

persistent wooing. Many a large person of un- 
gainly proportfons has acquired an ease and grace 
of carriage, and a gentleness of manner that chal- 
lenges any charge either of awkwardness or ef- 
feminacy. 

St. Paul wrote to Timothy, saying, **Keep a 
strong curb, however, on your youthful cravings ; 
and strive for integrity, good faith, love, peace, 
in company with all who pray to the Lord with 
pure hearts." — 2 Tim. 2 :22 (Weymouth Transla- 
tion). Let the young man who finds himself 
surcharged with natural, youthful, motive force 
consecrate it to God early for service in some no- 
ble work. Let him purpose in his heart that the 
evil one shall not prostitute his God-given powers, 
that instead of allowing them to dwindle 
away through channels of self-indulgence and bad 
habits, he will conserve and develop them for 
the highest good. Let him resolve that by God's 
grace he will harness up that energy within him 
to help build great buildings or giant bridges, or 
what is better and more glorious still, to preach 
the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ to a world 
in need, to help "bind up the broken-hearted, to 
proclaim liberty to the captives" in sin's bondage, 
and, ''to comfort all that mourn." -^ 

Oh, the fields of usefulness that lie out before 
the young men and women willing to devote their 
youthful powers to God's service! 



CHAPTER II 

THE CARE OF THE BODY 

^'Beloved, I wish above all things that thou 
mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul 
prospereth.'' — 3 John 2. 

IT is thought by many great Bible scholars that 
much of the agony Jesus suffered in the Gar- 
den was due to a fear that His physical 
strength would be insufficient to carry Him vic- 
toriously through the crucifixion ordeal. 

Every man should be concerned as to whether 
or not his physical powers are equal to the work 
God has planned for him to do. Many people are 
guilty of gross prodigality and wastefulness in 
physical and nervous energy. Though Jesus 
spared not His own life and freely gave His 
strength in service for others, He was not indif- 
ferent to the laws of health and to conserving His 
vitality for the best interests of the great cause to 
which He was heart and soul devoted. 

While under certain conditions God can use 
even the physically weak to confound the mighty 
and the strong, He does not make a virtue of avoid- 
able sickness or lack of physical vim and energy. 

A well-known business man of great responsi- 
24 



THE CARE OF THE BODY 25 

bility and executive ability, writing about 
health says: "First: I put high importance upon 
the duty of keeping myself physically fit. I be- 
lieve that I am correct in considering my physique 
as an integral and important part of my bus- 
iness equipment through which I must per- 
form my work as definitely and surely as 
with the aid of a chair, desk, and filing cases. 
I seldom permit myself to entertain the excuse 
that 1 am too busy to take exercise.' I take it 
anyway, and the renewed energy it gives me fully 
justifies the wisdom of my course. To keep my 
body in trim, I take as much exercise as is rea- 
sonably possible in the open air. When the 
weather is inclement, I go through systematic in- 
door exercises in company with a professional 
physical culturist. I do not consider this kind 
of exercise in any sense a fad ; it seems to me as 
logical a feature of a man's personal grooming 
as going to his barber or getting his shoes shined. 
It is part of a business man's duty to keep his 
physical machine brightened up, well lubricated, 
and in constant good repair." 

When those who enlist in the Master's service 
are truly awakened to the importance of main- 
taining a sound body along with a healthy soul, 
in order that their lives may tell most for efficiency 
and usefulness, they experience compunctions of 
conscience almost as quickly for letting a day 
pass without taking some kind of physical exer- 



26 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

cise or recreation as for missing their daily de- 
votions in prayer and Bible reading. Hundreds 
of people are pale-faced and sickly, not because of 
too much mental work, or that they are not re- 
ceiving the proper kind of food, but because they 
neglect to exercise. Think of the number of 
women who trudge languidly about the house 
weeks at a time without stepping outside to enjoy 
a refreshing walk in the pure air, or to let the 
sun give some natural color to their cheeks ! 

Many spend their hard-earned money for med- 
icines that never help them, while others pray 
for healing and are never cured, when their 
sickness is largely, if not wholly due to their 
neglect, and might be gotten rid of easily enough 
if they were disposed to try some of nature's sim- 
ple remedies. 

Speaking of divine healing, the Lord can heal 
and does heal, but many that He might heal would 
soon bring their ailments back upon themselves 
through ignorance or carelessness. When He 
heals He leaves the preservation of health largely 
to the individual. Surely man has a part to do. 
When the Lord gave the talents to His servants. 
He did not do the part of doubling them ; that part 
was theirs and the unprofitable servant who failed 
was upbraided and punished. 

There are many who imagine that under the 
law dispensation, God was very particular about 



THE CARE OF THE BODY 27 

how the Israelites lived and gave orders as to 
what they should eat and what they should not 
eat, and seemed to place a premium on strong, 
sturdy men of valor ; but that under the dispen- 
sation of grace, the care and culture of the phys- 
ical man is of little consequence in His eyes. 
"Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and 
that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any 
man defile the temple of God, him shall God de- 
stroy.''—! Cor. 3:16-17. 

Several passages in Paul's epistles convince 
us that he must have made a study of the athletes 
of his day, especially those who ran in the races. 
Alluding to them in one place, he says,"Every man 
that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all 
things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible 
crown; but we an incorruptible." He was un- 
doubtedly impressed with the course of physical 
training and self-denial that these runners sub- 
jected themselves to and felt that if they were 
willing to submit to such for earthly honors. 
Christians ought to benefit by very much the same 
sort of training for heavenly awards. Is it not 
reasonable that, if many men of the world by ex- 
ercise and physical culture methods are able tc 
develop strong bodies that they may live longer 
and work better for the god of Mammon, or for 
the "Goddess of Getting On" as Ruskin puts it, 
Christians should also employ like means, that 
they may develop physical strength and live 



28 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

longer to accomplish more for the Lord ? It is in- 
deed reasonable, and if it is within our power 
He expects us to do it. Surely "the children of 
this world are in their generation wiser than the 
children of light-"— Luke 16:8. 

Where St. Paul writes in 1 Timothy 4:- 
8, "Bodily exercise profiteth little," the marginal 
rendering, borne out by the original Greek is, "for 
a little time." Doctor Weymouth's Translation 
says, "Exercise for the body is not useless." Some 
one said of the wording, "profiteth little," that he 
was a candidate for that precious little. Though 
the Apostle Paul by comparison is emphasizing 
the importance of godliness, he does not in any 
way forbid exercise or discredit its value. 

The problems of keeping well are not simple 
where living is so complex in a civilization highly 
organized. It is estimated that about sixty per 
cent of the people of this country work indoors. 
On account of so much sedentary employment con- 
stitutional diseases are said to be on the increase 
though sanitary science has succeeded in do- 
ing away largely with unwholesome condi- 
tions that formerly contributed to epidem- 
ics of contagious diseases. People's hearts, 
livers, lungs, and other vital organs wear out pre- 
maturely. An excessive consumption of proteins, 
partaken of particularly in meats by those who do 
comparatively little manual labor, is regarded as 
a common cause of a great deal of kidney trouble. 
Many people inactive physically, though indus- 



THE CARE OF THE BODY 29 

trious brain workers, eat heavy foods that only- 
toilers in the fields can properly assimilate and 
the results are almost suicide in thousands of in- 
stances. In short, physical inactivity, recourse 
to stimulants of all kinds to whip up flagging 
nerves, too much excitement, and over-eating, are 
some of the tragical sins of modern living. 

God told Adam that he would have to earn 
his bread by the sweat of his brow. After all, 
this hard work Adam had to do was a blessing in 
disguise. After earning his bread in this way he 
had an appetite v/ith which to enjoy it. If the 
work made him tired, it brought him sound sleep. 
But with so many people there is a disinclination 
to want to sweat all day at hard manual labor, 
and an office job is preferred to plowing corn. 
Nevertheless, one of the inexorable laws of na- 
ture is that man's happiness and physical well- 
being is dependent upon a certain amount of phys- 
ical labor or exercise, however well able he may 
be to earn his bread by his wits alone, and no one 
can evade this law without suffering eventually 
as a consequence. 

Body tissues are constituted much like India 
rubber the constant kneading and stretching of 
which keeps it elastic and serviceable. Allow rub- 
ber to lie idle and it soon deteriorates, loses its 
elasticity, hardens, cracks, and is good for noth- 
ing. 



30 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

The proper amount of muscular stretching 
and exercise regularly indulged in has more to do 
with our physical, intellectual, and even our spir- 
itual well-being than it is possible to estimate in 
one chapter of any book. 

Some probably refrain from exercising be- 
cause they have heard of the comparatively early 
deaths of certain athletes. Man may over-indulge 
in almost anything that pertains to his physical 
sensibilities. There are two questions to be asked 
in the case of what may seem the premature death 
of a physical culturist: Was he immoderate in 
his exercise? How much earlier might he have 
died had he not exercised? 

Gladstone could never have been the great 
statesman he was, nor lived so long, had he not 
felt that it was vitally important to devote him- 
self regularly and systematically to chopping 
wood in order to conserve his strength and vital- 
ity. William Cullen Bryant was a weak, sickly 
child, but his father took him through a rigid 
course of physical training which saved and pro- 
longed his life. He became a vigorous physical 
culturist, and by living on plain, wholesome foods 
and fruits lengthened out his life until he reached 
Tiis eighty-fourth year. Ex-President Roosevelt, 
as a young man, was not strong and robust. Be- 
fore he left Cambridge, at the time of his gradua- 
tion from Harvard, he went to his physician for 



THE CARE OF THE BODY 31 

a final physical examination. He was told that 
he had heart trouble, that he must choose a pro- 
fession demanding no violent exertion, that he 
should refrain from vigorous exercise, that he 
must never run up stairs. This was a broad- 
side hit, but the intrepid soul of Roosevelt's ambi- 
tion to live a life worth while withstood the 
shock. ''Doctor," he replied, **I am going to do 
all the things you tell me not to do. If I've got 
to live the sort of life you have described, I don't 
care how short it is." He forthwith began to in- 
dulge in outdoor exercise, and the following sum- 
mer he scaled the Matterhorn. So much for one 
who finally acquired the distinction of becoming 
one of America's most vigorous men physically. 
For the ordinary man the object of exercise 
should not be to develop great muscles, inasmuch 
as the age calls more for brain-power than for 
brute strength. Most of our hard labor is done 
to-day by machinery. The man of great muscu- 
lar strength must keep hard at work or spend 
hours in a gymnasium daily to keep his muscles 
from becoming soft and flabby. What most peo- 
ple need is enough exercise to keep the body in 
good working condition. The aim of health cul- 
ture should be the harmonious development of 
all the muscles in the body, the proper function- 
ing of the organs of respiration, digestion, and 
excretion, and in general, the acquisition and main- 



32 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

tenance of sufficient vitality to insure effective re- 
sistance to disease. 

Regular, systematic exercise, that brings all 
of the muscles into play, is good for every one. 
The brain-v7orker can not get along successfully 
without it. Even the coal-heaver or the pick-and- 
shovel man may benefit by exercise of a different 
character than that which his regular work af- 
fords him, for he is likely to develop one set of 
muscles at the expense of the others. Many a 
laboring man imagines that his particular kind 
of work is all the exercise he needs, yet if he were 
put through a few minutes of army drill or a 
few exercises on a gymnasium floor under a 
competent instructor, he might be very much as- 
tonished the next morning to find that stiffness 
and soreness apprize him of numerous muscles 
he did not know he had. 

It is not an infrequent occurrence that the 
light athlete who has kept his general condition 
good, outclasses in endurance tests at universities 
the big, heavy fellow who is strong in spots, so to 
speak, and whose arms may be large, but who 
has not had the systematic training that is cal- 
culated to strengthen and develop the heart and 
lungs. 

There are numerous systems of exercises. In 
general, where conditions permit, one should ex- 
ercise out of doors. One needs variety in exer- 
cise, and this may be had in chopping wood, row- 



THE CARE OF THE BODY 33 

ing, canoeing, skating, running, hoeing, shoveling, 
long walks, and the like. A person need not 
do the same thing every day, but in whatever 
kind of recreation he indulges, careful attention 
should be given to body form, and to deep, dia- 
phragmic breathing. 

One may not have an opportunity to spend 
time out of doors every day, and gymnastic exer- 
cises serve as a good substitute, for they help to 
do what certain kinds of work fail to do. Every 
one should become familiar with some complete 
course of gymnastics. In the appendix of this 
book is a series of simple movements which repre- 
sent very well the best of free gymnastic exer- 
cises taught in standard gymnasiums. 

It should be remembered that the all-impor- 
tant thing in physical development is regularity. 
Little may be expected to result from work that 
is done by spurts and starts. One must acquire 
the exercise habit. 
Y.H.Y.C— 3. 



CHAPTER III 
SYSTEM 

^'Let all things be done decently and in or- 
derr—1 Cor. 14:40. 

THE disorderly man is everlastingly hunt- 
ing for things, everlastingly blaming 
other people for taking or misplacing 
them, and everlastingly finding them just 
where he forgot he put them. He is late 
for church because he has to look through 
all his bureau drawers to find his Sunday tie. 
The conductor has to pass him by and come back 
a time or two because he does not remember in 
which one of his dozen pockets he put his ticket. 
His work-bench is so littered up with tools and 
junk that he can not tell tools and junk apart, 
much less single out the particular instrument 
he wishes to use. His desk is piled high with 
all sorts of papers and the pigeonholes are so 
crammed full of trash that he has not the slight- 
est idea what is in any one of them. The more 
he hunts through his desk for the particular pa- 
per he wants, the more he clutters things; his 
ill humor progresses from bad to worse mean- 
while, and he gives vent to his feelings by berat- 
34 



SYSTEM 35 

ing the paper he can not find, his poor old desk, 
and fate for such ill luck. Often in looking for 
a certain paper he finds various others which re- 
mind him of a dozen things he should have at- 
tended to ; the result is that his mind wanders and 
he forgets what paper it was he started out to 
find. When he thinks of it finally, he must start 
all over again. 

Oh, the nervous energy and ages of time that 
are wasted on account of the trait of disorderli- 
ness! Lack of method and system is at the bot- 
tom of a great deal of crabbedness. 

Speaking of the matter of desks calls to mind 
the following found in Luther H. Gulick's book 
on Mind and Work"^ (Doubleday, Page & Co.). 
"Not long ago, in the office of a leading 
American publishing house I noticed that 
the roll-top desks had all been removed, and 
that instead, the entire force, from stenogra- 
pher to head of the department, sat before desks 
with flat tops. When I asked about it, they said, 
*It expedites business. Take the case of a claim 
that must be passed along from one hand to an- 
other until it has been corrected and 0. K.'d five 
different times. Now if that claim can get stuck 
in a pigeonhole anywhere — a thing that used to 
happen right along — it is likely to be forgotten. 
The result is delays and confusion and ragged 



* See Bibliog, 



36 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

business generally. But if there aren't any pig- 
eonholes and it has to lie in plain view on top of 
the desk, it can't be forgotten until it's attended 
to/ *But it must make a mess on the desks/ I 
objected. That's the very point/ was the an- 
swer. 'No chance for a mess. We get things 
cleaned up.' " 

The lower picture on the next page shows the 
disorderly man at work, and the upper picture 
shows the orderly one. The two men are well 
worth studying. A similar illustration might be 
drawn of two workshops, entitled, **The more 
skilful the mechanic, the cleaner his bench." The 
artist might have drawn a series of such pictures 
showing how the same principle applies to cooks 
in the kitchen, to housewives in their homes, 
farmers on their farms, etc. 

Dr. Frank Crane says some people like dirt 
and disorder, and he calls it, The Love of the 
Sordid. In an editorial on the subject, he says, 
''Jane Addams tells us of some modern tenements 
that were built in the slums and bathtubs put in. 
The tenants promptly used the bathtubs for 
coal, the sloping end being admirably suited for 
the shovel." 

Many people live and work in a cluttered-up 
condition of affairs most of the time, not because 
they like it exactly, but because they simply do 
not know the secret of keeping things clean and 
in order. A great mistake is made in leaving lit- 



SYSTEM 



37 



tie things out of place until the general cleaning- 
up time. But this system of general clean-ups is 



The Bigger the Man the Cleaner the Desk 




The busy man, the man who real- 
ly does things, always has time to 
see a worthy business caller. The 
little fussy fellow who runs around 
in a circle and seldom does much nev- 
er has time for anything. 



This fussy little man usually has a 
deskalllitteredup with junk. If he 
tries to locate one paper on it he loses 
from three minutes to half an hour. 
The man who does things keeps his 
work up to the minute. Keep your 
desk and your brain free from litter. 

Copyright International Feature Service, Inc. Reprinted by permission. 



88 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

more or less a delusion. The secret of orderli- 
ness lies in keeping little things in place as we go 
along. Do not depend upon a general cleaning-up 
time tomorrow to atone for disorder today. Have 
a place for everything and when a thing is not 
in use, keep it in its place. A v/ell developed, con- 
scientious sense of orderliness will see that the 
back-yard is presentable as well as the front 
yard; it will strive to keep the contents of the 
closets or bureau drawers properly arranged as 
well as the furniture in the living room. 

The disorderly housewife, though busy all day, 
is always behind with her work. Some people 
can not do a little work without creating chaos 
about them. People without method or system- 
atic ways of doing things spend much of their 
time making false motions and taking unneces- 
sary steps. Much of it is due to mind-wander- 
ing. *'Galbraith," says a little clipping I have, 
"has taught us that a bricklayer's fifteen move- 
ments of the hand can be reduced to seven, thus 
doubling the work accomplished while saving his 
strength." 

Unless habits of order and system are acquired 
early in life, they are likely never to be acquired 
at all. The child who lives in a disorderly home 
where it has been permitted to throw things about, 
is likely to betray these conditions by keeping 
an untidy desk at school. System and order, like 
charity, must begin at home. When a child is old 



SYSTEM 39 

enough to run around, it is not too early to be- 
gin teaching it to pick up its playthings when it 
is done playing with them and to put them in a 
box or basket provided for them. 

Every man and woman should read Christine 
Frederick's book on, The New Hoitsekeeping* 
(Doubleday, Page & Co.). Mrs. Frederick's tes- 
timony of her experience before she learned the 
secret of applying principles of efficiency to home- 
making was like that of thousands of poor moth- 
ers everywhere whose lives are made more or 
less wearisome and even miserable by the daily 
drudgery of housework. She says: 

"A moderate income, two babies, and constant 
demands on my time, was the situation that faced 
me several years ago. I liked housework, and was 
especially fond of cooking; but the deadening 
point about the whole situation was that I never 
seemed to finish my work, never seemed to 'get 
anywhere,' and that I almost never had any lei- 
sure time to myself. I wanted to read a bit, or 
write out some ideas I had been thinking about, 
or take a half -hour for personal grooming. If I 
devoted my day to cooking, I was appalled later 
at the confusion and dirt I had neglected. If I 
specialized in cleaning, our meals were hurried 
and ill-prepared. If I tried to do justice to both 
cleaning and preparing of meals, I quite certainly 



See Bibliog, 



40 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

neglected the babies and myself. My husband 
came home only to find me 'all tired out/ with no 
energy left to play over a song, or listen to a 
thoughtful article. I was constantly struggling 
to obtain a little 'higher life' for my individuality 
and independence; and on the other hand I was 
forced to give up this individuality to my babies 
and drudgifying housework." 

One day while listening to a conversation be- 
tween her husband and a business friend, Mrs. 
Frederick heard frequent references to such terms 
and phrases as ''efficiency," "standard practise," 
"motion study," and "scientific management." 
This set her to thinking, and she began to inquire 
how these principles are applied to modern busi- 
ness. Then she set herself to studying her own 
problems with them in mind. How she revolu- 
tionized her dishwashing, cooking, sweeping, 
dusting, and mending, eliminating unnecessary 
steps, loss of time and energy is a most fascinat- 
ing story. Though she put her home on a busi- 
ness basis, making excellent use of such things 
even as a card index, and a filing case for house- 
hold information, she did not turn it into a dull 
office or factory, but made it every inch a home. 

Some mothers complain that they are too busy 
to find time even to read the Bible, let alone 
good books and periodicals of any sort. A little 
of modern method in hundreds of instances ap- 



SYSTEM 41 

plied to the home would revolutionize conditions 
for hard working Marthas so that they would have 
time to turn Marys and devote themselves to *'the 
good part'' also. 

Of work, Ruskin said, "The law of nature is, 
that a certain quantity of work is necessary to 
produce a certain quantity of good of any kind 
whatever. If you want knowledge, you must toil 
for it ; if food, you must toil for it ; and if pleasure, 
you must toil for it." Every one has his share of 
work to do, and though God decreed that Adam 
should earn his bread by the sweat of his brow, 
He does not intend, surely, that we must give 
every moment of our lives to work. He worked, 
and rested. One must have leisure for medita- 
tion, prayer and Bible reading, and for nourish- 
ing the mind by profitable study and reflection, 
otherwise both the soul and the intellect are cer- 
tain to become dwarfed and impoverished. If sys- 
tem will give us longer intervals to devote to the 
"higher life," we ought certainly to avail ourselves 
of all that modern methods of work have to offer. 

THE CARD INDEX AND FILING CASE 

The American people are a great industrial 
people. They have a genius for big business. In 
recent years gigantic commercial enterprises have 
sprung into being, unprecedented in the world's 
history for their wonderful organization and pro- 
ductive capacities. One great firm under one 



42 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

board of directors may operate factories in a 
dozen different cities in the United States, manu- 
facturing a particular standardized thing or doz- 
ens of different things. Coordination and unity- 
have been effected largely by means of a scientific 
system of record keeping and accounting. All in- 
formation and correspondence relative to a busi- 
ness have to be easily accessible. The present-day 
business man can not afford to lose time hunting 
for papers. All data must be right at his finger- 
tips. The old-fashioned, tight-leaf record-book 
has given place to the filing case, the card index, 
and the loose-leaf book. The perfection attained 
in the development of office equipment and appli- 
ances is monumental to modern science and inven- 
tion. 

Some time ago I found my desk becoming too 
small to accommodate my papers. I was rapidly 
traveling toward a chaotic condition of affairs, for 
my desk drawers and pigeonholes were too few 
and too small to take care of, in any orderly fash- 
ion, my growing accumulation of correspondence, 
clippings, pamphlets, circulars, business cards, ad- 
vertising matter, and the like. I kept my eyes 
open for some sort of filing cabinet to suit my 
needs, and succeeded in finding a splendid one at 
a remarkably low cost, comparatively speaking, 
and it has paid for itself many times over. 

There are three card index drawers, that for 
my work have become indispensable. The first is 



SYSTEM 43 

for personal and business cards, the second for 
names and addresses, and the third for general 
information. There are division cards in each 
drawer, one for each letter of the alphabet. For- 
merly, when a new acquaintance or business man 
gave me his card, I put it in a special drawer of my 
desk, but these cards were not classified. When I 
wanted a particular card I had to hunt througii 
the whole lot. A card is an important item, and 
a keen business man may tell a good many things 
about you by the sort of card you present. Often 
business cards have important data on them worth 
keeping. Now I simply place a man's card in my 
index drawer behind the initial letter of his name 
or business. This drawer has proved to be of 
great value. An address book of the tight-bound 
type, as distinguished from the loose-leaf book, is 
an unsatisfactory thing for the reason that in the 
end there may be too few pages for an accumu- 
lation of addresses of one initial letter and too 
many for those of some other letter. My ad- 
dress index is supplementary to the business 
card drawer, for if I have no card with the 
man's address on it I write such information on 
one. 

My third index drawer is a real asset. It is 
astonishing how much information one may type- 
write or pen on a card three by six inches. Place 
your information card in the drawer behind the 
division card of the proper initial letter and it can 



44 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

be found very readily. Another advantage of 
this system is that cards on which are written 
information no longer needed may be thrown 
away, where if such data were written in an ordi- 
nary note-book it must remain there until the 
whole book is discarded. 

There is no limit to the different kinds of in- 
formation one may store away in these index 
drawers. For instance, under "L," I find a card 
with the following information: 

Lighthouses 

Splendid descriptive article. Bea- 
cons of the Sea, Lighting the Coasts 
of the United States, by George R. 
Putnam, Commissioner of Light- 
houses. In January Number, 1913 
of The National Geographic Maga- 
zine, published by the Nat'l Geo- 
graphic Society, Washington, D. C. 

Under "C" is another card for an article on Cour- 
tesy, giving the magazine, date, and page. One 
can not keep all of the magazines and books con- 
taining interesting articles one may wish to use 
in the future. One reason is that the magazines 
or books may belong to some one else. But if a 
person keeps a record of his reading on cards, 
should he wish to refer to such information again 
for use in a sermon, lecture, or an article, he 



SYSTEM 45 

knows just where it may be found. A good prac- 
tise is to paste clippings from newspapers and 
magazines on the cards as one would paste them 
in a scrap-book. Filed under the proper initial 
letter they may be readily referred to. 

Mrs. Christine Frederick uses her card indexes 
for cooking receipts and for such information as 
just where she stored certain articles of her chil- 
dren's clothing. She does not have to ransack 
the whole attic and go through a dozen chests or 
trunks to find her little boy's winter cap. Her 
cards tell her the very nook and corner, for when 
she packs a chest she makes a little plan of the 
arrangement on a card. 

My cabinet has three other drawers, like Fig- 
ure I in the accompanying illustration. These 
contain folders in which may be kept letters, cir-^ 
culars, and papers of various descriptions. The fol- 
lowing are some of the headings under which I 
have papers filed : Art and Artists, Biography, Bi- 
ble, Colleges and Schools, Education and Educa- 
tors„ England, History, Men of Letters, Mitsic and 
Musicians, Poetry, Places, Sociology, Prohibition, 
Suffrage, etc. Then I have another such drawer 
for business papers. 

It is generally understood that one goes to 
school or to college for two things especially, — in- 
formation and training. It is remarkable how 
many students can get through college without 
having acquired very much of either. Some have^ 



46 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

an ambition to get a degree, simply, little 
appreciating what such a degree should mean. 

The average good student cannot remember 
everything that he reads. Even though he re- 
members a good deal about a particular subject, 
he must be able to refer to it in books or wherever 
it is that he found it, if he wishes to be accurate 
and speak with authority. So many students not 
only forget what they have learned, but where 
they learned it, and for all practical purposes they 
might as well never have learned it at all. While 
a person should not be loaded down with a greSt 
amount of information that will never benefit him, 
and may only hinder him, it is hardly the part of 
wisdom to retain nothing at all that may be help- 
ful and useful. 

Now every person may not be in a position 
to purchase an elaborate filing cabinet. Some of 
them are expensive and can not be carried around 
over the country conveniently. Every one should 
become acquainted somewhat with filing methods 
and endeavor to adapt certain simple appliances 
to his particular needs. The student should be- 
gin by purchasing two very simple and inexpen- 
sive articles that are sure to be of use to him. 
Figure II is a picture of a common letter file that 
can be bought for from forty to fifty cents. It is 
an excellent thing for filing all sorts of papers. 
Figure III is a cheap card index box capable of 
holding a thousand cards. It is made of binders* 




FIG. I. A STANDARD LETTER FILE DRAWER 





FIG. III. CARD INDEX 



FIG. II. COMMON LETTER FILE 



SYSTEM 47 

board and has a lid. This particular box is sold 
by the Weis Company of Monroe, Michigan. The 
box and 500 cards cost about $2.50. Stationery 
stores are supplied with an abundance of such 
things of all descriptions to answer every kind of 
need. One such box as here described may be 
furnished with two or three sets of division cards 
and be made to answer for as many different 
general purposes. 



CHAPTER IV 

THE VAGABOND MIND 

''Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind." 
—1 Peter 1:13. 

THE trouble with many unsuccessful stu- 
dents, and indeed, the trouble with a great 
many unsuccessful people generally is that 
their minds are forever wandering. What is 
needed is a sort of police court set up in the in- 
tellect with Reason on the bench as judge, Mr. 
Will-power sworn in as a policeman to arrest Mr. 
Johnny Wits on a charge of vagrancy. 

A certain amount of mental rambling is as 
wholesome for the mind as a good tramp through 
the woods or a long cross-country hike is good for 
one's health and nerves. The mind that never 
tramps is dull and stupid, it travels in ruts and 
grooves, it lacks imagination, is uncreative, and 
devoid of the finer spiritual qualities. 

Let the mind roam at times. Let it run up 
and down the Milky Way, build castles on Mars 
and Jupiter. A little traveling about for the mind 
broadens it and saves it from crystallizing into 
the inelastic, immobile, stereotyped fixity that 
characterizes the mind of the Syrian who still 
48 



THE VAGABOND MIND 49 

plows the ground with a crooked stick as did all 
of his ancestors before him. There is a world of 
relaxation and comfort to be derived from a good, 
w^holesome day-dream. 

It is the confirmed vagrant mind that is under 
charges, the vagabond mind that is always on the 
tramp, that has never known submission to a 
strong, guiding will-power. We must rein up this 
vagabond; break him of his Gipsy ways; and 
teach him to work, to concentrate, and to contrib- 
ute something worth while to the entity of which 
he is a part, instead of existing in it like a mere 
parasite. 

Some people's minds are as obedient to their 
wills as was a certain dog to his mistress that my 
mother tells about. His ever-readiness to comply 
with her demands was her boast before her friends. 
One day when guests were present and she wished 
to demonstrate Fido's good training, she said, 
"Go out Fido," but Fido went under the bed, and 
to save the dog's reputation, she added, "or under 
the bed, whichever you please.'' 

A man must have an active, disciplined mind 
in this age of social complexity in order to keep 
abreast of the times. More depends on mind 
than ever before, and one's mental activities 
should be well ordered. Periods of mind work, 
and mind play must be more or less well defined. 
There should be appointed times for both. 
Y.H.Y.C— 4. 



50 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

THE ''FUZZY MIND'' 

Ungoverned mental activity leads in many in- 
stances to what Doctor Luther Gulick terms Fuz- 
zymindedness in his book on Mind and Work. 
-L his he defines as a *'loss of perspective ; it means 
that there are no clear edges to what we see or 
think or feel." Many people are so bewildered in 
the "many-sided and highly organized world of 
to-day/' that they long for the wings of a dove, he 
says, that they may fly away from it and get 
back to a more primitive state of affairs where 
one's habits and needs are more simple. But he 
asks why we should not be willing to accept ail 
of this complexity with its apartment houses, tel- 
ephones, etc. "Every new complexity means a 
new opportunity. The myriads of new ties that 
modern civilization thrusts upon us make possible 
a life fuller and richer than ever before. All the 
finest products of the past are at our disposal. 
All the knowledge and beauty of the world lie at 
our doors. Nothing is to be gained by fleeing; 
everything is to be gained by joyfully recognizing 
these possibilities and taking hold of them." 

Surely God intended for His children to live a 
full, rich, and abundant life. Jesus said, "I am 
come that they might have life, and that they 
might have it more abundantly." — John 10:10. 
One of the reasons why a great many people fail 
to enjoy life is that they live with an ever con- 
scious feeling of helplessness under the pressure of 



THE VAGABOND MIND 51 

a multitude of things to be done and to be learned, 
with the result that they toil and drudge blindly 
on without taking time to stop and think, to medi- 
tate, and plan out their work. There is a class 
of people who are ever on the jump, who have no 
time to spare, yet who accomplish only about one- 
half or one-third of what they might accomplish 
on account of this trait of "fuzzymindedness." 
'The first step, I believe, in mental hygiene,'' 
says Doctor Gulick, "is to sort over the loose ma- 
terial of one's mind and tie it up, as it were, in 
separate parcels, with labels on them. Life is 
too big and too complicated to cope with it as ^ 
whole ; it simply overwhelms and dazzles." 

It is this sorting out, labeling, and classifying 
process that will enable one to see the relative 
values of things, to attend to the important things, 
and to let the tormenting, unessential little things 
go. "There is a type of housekeeping that in- 
sists upon scrubbing the steps every time they 
have been profaned. We do not greatly admire 
that type of housekeeper. True, the steps may 
actually have the marks of feet upon them; but 
how about relative values?" 

This sort of fussiness and lack of power to 
value the elements of life in their proper and due 
relationship calls to mind a story I heard some 
time since of a fastidious New England housewife 
and her spouse. The latter came into the kitchen 
one evening quite thirsty. He called to his wife 



52 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

in another room and asked her if she had wiped 
the kitchen sink dry for the night. Her reply- 
was, 

"Yes, why?'' 

"Oh, nothing much," he answered, "I wanted 
a drink, but I'll wait until morning." 

WRITING IT DOWN 

A splendid way to clear up the sky of the op- 
pressing haze of so many things to be done is to 
take a pencil and pad and write out a list of it all. 
Even the best mind can not concentrate on the 
thing in hand trying to remember at the same 
time forty other things that need attention. 

I find two different kinds of lists very helpful, 
one a sort of general, or long-time list and the 
other a day list. There are some things I v>^ish to 
accomplish that may take several days, or even 
several months. I make a list of these and keep 
it where I can compare it with my day list. 

We can live but a day at a time, and each one 
has its own problems. Some one has said that if 
the pennies be taken care of, the dollars will take 
care of themselves. If we take good care of the 
minutes, the days, weeks, and months will take 
care of themselves. My day list is usually made 
out in the morning, and it includes everything that 
I think should be done, if possible, to-day. It may 
have many more things written on it before the 



THE VAGABOND MIND 53 

day is over. Getting all of the day's items down 
on paper enables me to place them in order ac- 
cording to their relative importance. With my 
two lists in hand I have everything before me. I 
can see all of my tasks in better perspective. As 
there are just so many hours to be given to the 
work, I decide the order of the different tasks, 
and if I can not finish all of them, I shall have 
had the satisfaction of knowing that the most im- 
portant matters were given priority over others, 
and in the end, whatever the results, there will be 
less occasion for worry or dissatisfaction. 

Some prominent writer was asked how he man- 
aged to find time to write so many books. He 
replied that he wrote them while other people 
were picking their teeth. If a person keeps his 
work well in hand with the aid of such planning, 
he will be surprised how much spare time he will 
have aside from routine duties to give to special 
tasks. A little pegging away, so to speak, a few 
minutes every day will accomplish wonders in 
attaining great ends. Of course, many things 
happen, often, to upset one's plans entirely, but, 
in general, the planning pays. 

FORGETTING 

Some people do not regard seriously enough 
the disposition to be forgetful. Forgetfulness 
may become a far greater handicap than one im- 
agines. A person does not have to forget many 



54 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

times until others begin secretly to regard him as 
undependable. 

The person who recognizes the forgetful trait 
in himself must first of all get rid of a light esti- 
mation of it. He must in some way bring him- 
self to see the harm the infirmity is doing him and 
the injustice it does others who are in any way de- 
pendent upon him. He must learn to abhor hav- 
ing to make such a confession as, "I forgot," very 
much as he would having to make some confes- 
sion of wrong-doing. 

How may one acquire a good memory ? I have 
two books on the subject of remembering, and 
in one of them, the writer says, "It is 
not enough to offer the excuse that you have 
a *poor memory.' The world demands that you 
have a good one. The day of memory as a mys- 
terious *gift' is passed. Science has proved the 
folly of that theory for all time. We now know 
that memory is as easily trained and developed 
and improved as the brain itself. And with that 
knowledge there has come a demand from the 
business world that cannot be denied.'' 

Attention is one of the fundamental principles 
of remembering. Says Professor Lroisette, "It is 
the will directing the activity of the intellect into 
some particular channel and keeping it there. It 
is the opposite of mind-wandering." Attention 
means careful listening, careful observation — 
studied sense impressions. An attentive observer 



THE VAGABOND MIND 55 

may look at a man for a moment and be able to 
turn away and describe everything about him 
from his hat to his heels while to a careless ob- 
server he is like a tree walking. 

In the cultivation of a good memory a person 
trains his eyes and ears to receive clear and defi- 
nite impressions. He endeavors to recall from 
time to time what he has seen or heard in detail. 
In the trained memory oral and visual im- 
pressions are stored away in tabulated order, 
like phonographic records or photographers' neg- 
atives, for future reference. The care that the 
photographer exercises in order to make good neg- 
atives, and that which the phonograph manufac- 
turer takes in making faithful reproductions of 
sound in his records, illustrates the concentration 
necessary in our securing, as nearly as possible, 
accurate mental reproductions. 

We remember much by means of association. 
One thing, in the process of thinking, suggests 
another. Ideas may become linked together in 
the mind so that any one of them may serve to 
recall a whole chain of others. This is a natural 
operation of the thinking faculty, and in mem- 
ory training we must take advantage of it. 

Referring to Professor Loisette's book on As- 
similative Memory, we find that there are three 
laws of memory : association by inclusion or sim- 
iliarity, by exclusion or dissimilarity, and by con- 
currence. Under association by inclusion there 



56 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

are several headings : A part of a thing may sug- 
gests the WHOLE of it, or vice versa, as room, 
house. The species may suggest the genus, as 
oak, tree. The abstract may bring up the con- 
crete, as hardness, stone. Words of similar 
sound will recall each other, as cat, catastrophe. 
LIKE, OR SYNONYMOUS things may be related, as 
joy, happiness, or church, temple. 

Under the law of exclusion, or dissimilarity, a 
thing may easily remind one of its opposite, as 
hot, cold; joy, sorrow. Concurrence means that 
certain things by their nature, by natural con- 
seciuences, or by incident, have come to be associ- 
ated ; for example, ice, skating; kaiser, autocracy. 

As I live near New York City and go there 
very often on business, I decided some time ago 
that to memorize about twenty streets in their 
order in the down-town district would greatly aid 
me in my work. I believe I have them linked to- 
gether by these associative means so that they 
will be easy to remember. There is a difference 
in committing by rote and by method. Here are 
the connections I worked out for six of the streets : 
viz., Barclay, Park Place, Murray, Warren, 
Chambers, and Reade Streets. The "Bark'' and 
"Park" of the first two are associated by likeness 
of sound. Intermediate links connecting Park 
Place with Murray are: ark, Noah, flood, rain, 
rainy, ray — Murray Street; then Hooray for 
Uncle Sam, Sammy, our "Sammies'' at war — 



THE VAGABOND MIND 57 

Warren suggests 'Svar-in France," French Gov- 
ernment, Chamber of Deputies — Chambers Street. 
Chambers suggests rooms in a building — reading 
room — Reade Street, etc. By working out such 
connections and repeating them a few times every 
day for a week the chain becomes grooved, or 
channeled in the memory in such a way that it 
any one link be taken as a starting point it will 
serve to call up all the others. 

I have found these principles helpful in re- 
membering the meanings of foreign words. For 
example, the German word for "soon" is '"bald." 
I was reminded of some one who might "soon" be 
bald-headed and thus by concurrence, "soon" and 
"bald" have become inseparably linked in my 
memory. Here is another from my note-book. 
The Greek word for impassable is adiabatos. The 
"diaba" part of it suggests Diabolus, synonymous 
for Satan, which in turn brings to mind Father 
Abraham's speech to the rich man in the place of 
torment when he told him of the impassable gulf 
so fixed that he might not take him a drop of 
water to cool his parched tongue. 

The memory specialist claims great things for 
these methods. One may learn to remember 
names, faces, and addresses by concentrating the 
mind and thinking out associate names. One man 
goes so far as to say that the memory may be- 
come so trained that you will not need to jot down 
m.em.oranda on a paper and stick it in your hat, 



58 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

or write it on your cuff, or even require a calen- 
dar pad or a string around your finger. But un- 
less I am very certain that my mind is trained 
well enough to get along without the string around 
my finger, rather than run the risk of incurring 
the shame and humiliation of forgetting to keep 
an appointment, I am for getting a sign painter 
to letter the name, date, and place on a plank and 
for carrying that plank around with me as a re- 
minder. If, in order to remember, we must, like 
the primitive, stone-age man, chisel our memoran- 
da on a slab of granite for a desk pad to help our 
weak memories, — better do that than forget. 

The social worker, missionary, or minister has 
as great, if not a greater need than a business 
man of being able to remember names and faces. 
Mr. Roosevelt is said to have remembered at a re- 
union in Wyoming not only the names of his cow- 
boy friends after long absence, but the names 
of their ponies. This ability has helped many a 
man to win success in politics and business, and 
it should help ministers and missionaries to win 
souls for Christ. 

We are often careless in making acquaintances. 
When a person is introduced the name may not 
be well heard and a superficial look may be taken 
that leaves no definite picture of the stranger's 
face. Without staring, one may concentrate one's 
mind so as to remember peculiarities of expres- 
sion, and of features, and by associative means, 



THE VAGABOND MIND 59 

make a lasting acquaintance. This is one of the 
secrets of the great man's power in acquiring and 
holding influence over his fellow men. The at- 
taining of it is well worth our striving for. 

THE UNSETTLED MIND 

In a certain issue of a weekly magazine is a 
reference to the man who sat on the edge of his 
bed with a nightshirt in each hand and died of 
sleeplessness because he was unable to make up 
his mind which one of them to put on. His mind 
was of the unsettled type, — ^the mind of no de- 
cisions. 

Some people seem to have no power of decid- 
ing anything at all to their own satisfaction. If 
one of two things is chosen, they spend a good 
deal of time, subsequently, worrying and wonder- 
ing, when it is too late, why they did not choose 
the other instead. 

The man of no decisions is ever on the fence 
about something, ever lingering at the forks of 
the road, always half in and half out of something, 
ever between two fires, and lukewarm because he 
can not decide to be either hot or cold. He be- 
longs to that class which God said He would spue 
out of His mouth. 

Hundreds of men are floating about to-day, 
aimless, Jacks of all trades and efficient at none, 
working a day at a time at anything, washing win- 
dows or sprinkling sawdust on poolroom floors, 



60 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

because early in life they could never come to a 
decision as to whether to become lawyers, doctors, 
or something similarly professional. 

What many men are suffering from is not a 
lack of talent or of mental endowments, but of 
will-power to decide matters. 

There are many persons who argue and debate 
questions too long. There is a great deal of 
red-tape about their mental processes. It often 
happens that a comparatively ignorant or untu- 
tored man can accomplish a thing where the in- 
tellectual man fails. The one has no more sense 
than to start immediately at his task by the first 
method that comes to mind, while the other spends 
all of his time analyzing, weighing, and deliber- 
ating all possible and conceivable methods, never 
able to decide on any one of them. 

The Bible has a great deal to say about one- 
ness of mind, singleness of aim and purpose. 
When Jesus sent His dsciples out to preach. He 
wanted them to give their first attention to their 
ministry. He told them not to be *'of doubtful 
mind" regarding what they should eat and drink, 
assuring them that if they would give their first 
thought to their work all these other things would 
be added unto them. St. Paul said, "Let every 
man be fully persuaded in his own mind," and 
again, "Be not soon shaken in mind." The 
Apostle James writes, "A double minded man is 
unstable in all his ways," and, "He that wavereth 



THE VAGABOND MIND 61 

is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and 
tossed/' 

In speaking of God's immutability, Job says, 
"But he is in one mind, and who can turn him? 
And what his soul desireth, even that he doeth/' 
It is something of this one-mind character of God 
that we mortals need. It is the mind that has 
made its great decision, that sees a great end to 
be reached, that can not be turned from its pur- 
pose, that works through to the realization of 
its cherished desire. 

No young man or woman can make successful 
preparations for the ministry of the Gospel who 
is continually allowing a hundred and one con- 
siderations of a worldly nature to come in and 
distract and unsettle his or her mind. Paul said, 
"No man that warreth entangleth himself with 
the affairs of this life ; that he may please him who 
hath chosen him to be a soldier.'' We certainly 
have had examples of soldier sacrifice and devo- 
tion to a single cause in the late war. Men 
made every conceivable sacrifice for their coun- 
try's sake. God can expect little from the worker 
who, having enlisted in His service, is ever 
looking back to home with its old friends and 
associations or to some lucrative position. When 
Jesus was calling men to His ministry one of the 
candidates said unto Him, "Lord, suffer me first 
to go and bury my father." But Jesus said unto 
him, "Let the dead bury their dead : but go thou 



62 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

and preach the kingdom of God/' Again He 
said, "No man, having put his hand to the plough, 
and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God/' 
In the office of a physician, who is a friend of 
mine, is this sign: "Man is made of dust, dust 
settles, be a man." There is nothing like getting 
settled. 



CHAPTER V 

TO-DAY 

''Son, go work to-day in my vineyard." — Matt. 
21:28. 

IN the fore part of a book I have is a quotation 
from the Sanskrit. Printed in large type 
and ornamented with a very appropriate pen 
drawing, it requires a whole page. The quotatioii 
is evidently very old, but well worth space in a 
modern book, or even deserving of a place as a 
motto upon our walls. It reads: 

"Look to this Day, for it is Life — ^the very Life 
of Life. In its brief course lie all the verities and 
realities of your existence; the bliss of Growth, 
the glory of Action, the splendor of Beauty. 
For yesterday is already a dream and to-morrow 
is only a vision ; but to-day, well-lived, makes every 
yesterday a dream of happiness and every to-mor- 
row a vision of hope. Look well, therefore, lo 
this Day. Such is the salutation of the Dawn." 

LIVING TO-DAY 

Man, endowed with intelligence superior to 
that of the lower animals, is able, mentally, to 
grasp and appreciate schemes that involve many 

63 



64 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

years of time. The horse or pig lives in and 
thinks only of the present. Food for to-day is the 
swine's concern ; he knows little about his yester- 
days and cares less about his to-morrows. On the 
other hand, man studying the past, criticizing the 
present, and anticipating the future, often plans 
great things which may require decades for ful- 
filment. More than any other creature he may live 
over in his imagination the past or become all-ab- 
sorbed in the future. Though no man should be- 
come like the swine, live only for to-day, or give 
himself up to the baser sort of Epicureanism: 
''eat, drink, and be merry, for to-morrow we die," 
neither should he become so absorbed in the 
things of the past or so engrossed with the things 
of the future as to fail to live in a true sense his 
to-day. 

Some live upon achievements of yesterday to 
the extent that they are oblivious to to-day's op- 
portunity for new and even greater achievement. 
Others live to-day restlessly and impatiently look- 
ing forward too much to some millennial state, to 
the fulfilment of abnormal desire, to the realiza- 
tion of wild dreams. These cannot live to-day 
fully and deeply. 

If there are any who might have an excuse for 
spending some of to-day's time living over their 
yesterdays, it is the aged, for the "old man's glory 
is his gray hairs." It is generally conceded that 
the joys of old people consist largely in retrospec- 



TO-DAY 65 

tion, the contemplation of a life well-lived, and in 
recalling the experiences of battles hard-fought 
and well-won, in days gone by. Yet for the aged, 
to-day may be full of meaning, fraught with op- 
portunity; it may still have its joys and successes. 
It may not be for old age what it was in days when 
there was greater physical strength; but it may 
be fruitful, and filled with sunshine. 

Oh, to live to-day well, fully, deeply, however 
great the past, however extensive and involved 
one's plans for the future! Though Christians 
look forward to eternity's to-morrow of heaven 
and celestial life, God would have them, though 
mortal, enjoy something of heaven to-day. 

PLANNING TO-DAY 

Something has already been said about plans 
for to-day. Alfred the Great planned his day. He 
divided his twenty-four hours into three parts; 
eight hours for business and work, eight for study 
and meditation, and eight for rest. His method- 
ical habits, and systematic living resulted in his 
being able to do a great deal worth while, consid- 
ering the times in which he lived, and his life 
stands out conspicuously in the early history of 
the English people. 

It seems almost humanly impossible that John 

Wesley was able to accomplish the amount of work 

that he did. But if it had not been for his 

*'method," the Methodists might have been knovm 

Y.H.Y.C— 5. 



66 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

by some other name, if known at all. Plan and 
order prevent wasted moments and enable us to 
make to-day bring joy and satisfaction both to 
ourselves and others. They do much toward en- 
abling us to find time for everything important, 
time for work, time for study and meditation, and 
time for relaxation and recreation. 

ENJOYING TO-DAY 

Enjoying to-day depends, more than anything 
else, perhaps, upon attitude of mind and state of 
conscience. It is difficult for one who has a sin- 
burdened soul or a remorseful conscience to enjoy 
to-day. He gets more enjoyment out of to-day 
who, with a clear conscience and a knowledge of 
sins forgiven, enters upon it optimistically, look- 
ing for and expecting the bright and the good 
things, — whose mind is trained, and made to dwell 
upon whatsoever things are true, honest, just, 
pure, lovely, virtuous, of good report, and upon the 
praiseworthy. A gentle rebuke was once offered 
a hungry lad for eating a peach too hastily. 
He was told that he had eaten it too fast 
to enjoy it. Undue haste may rob us of much 
of to-day's joy. In this day of speed, of the light- 
ning express, aeroplane, and telegraph, we have 
to fight against this tendency of living too fast 
and burning out before our time. Though to-day 
must be lived actively and earnestly, to be enjoyed, 
it must be lived patiently and thoughtfully. 



TO-DAY 67 

WORKING TO-DAY 

No one's to-day can be lived well when lived 
idly. The idler deceives himself when he thinks 
he is enjoying life fully. It is the man with a 
purpose, the man who works, that enjoys life. 
Paul enjoins Christians to be diligent in business, 
and though devoted to a ministry of hard mental 
labor and suffering, he set them an example by 
working with his hands. Like the Master, we 
should be concerned about working while it is to- 
day, for the night cometh when no man can work. 
Jesus was absorbed in work for others, in labor 
of love. What many need is a good-Samaritan 
spirit behind their work, and this means, as some 
one has put it, a "vital interest in the world and 
its humanizing issues ; willingness to serve and to 
sacrifice; ever sensitized and responsive to the 
wants and suffering of others.'' This is the kind 
of work that helps to make to-day glorious. 

RESTING TO-DAY 

Working, thinking, and acting are, physiolog- 
ically, a tearing-down, wearing-out process. Our 
Sanskrit quotation speaks of the "bliss of growth." 
A prominent physician says that growth takes 
place only during rest. It is said that the secret 
of Mr. Bryan's being able at one time to make so 
many speeches from the platform of his campaign 
car in one day without telling weariness toward 



68 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

evening, lay in his being able to go to his berth 
and sleep ten or fifteen minutes at a time betweeii 
these speeches. During these short rests, the 
work of the body's rebuilding and recuperation 
went on, with the result, that his day's work was 
surprisingly great in amount. The hard worker, 
whether business man, housewife, student, or la- 
borer, should have periods of relaxation and rest. 
In his book on the Efficient Life (Doubleday, 
Page & Co.), Doctor Gulick wrote in one of his 
chapters: "Many mothers slave for their chil- 
dren so many hours a day that they have but lit- 
tle energy left with which to enjoy them and love 
them. As a result, the dulness and drudgery of 
existence are all they come to experience. One 
mother of five children for years took at least an 
hour a day for rest and quiet reading alone 
by herself. Nothing but absolute necessity 
would induce her to break into this hour. 
The result of this is not only that she has kept 
her own superb health, but more than this: she 
is a constant joy and inspiration to her children, 
her husband, and her friends. It is true that she 
might have done more dusting or mending stock- 
ings than she actually accomplished, but it would 
have been at the sacrifice of that whole part of 
her life which meant the most to herself and oth- 
ers." He goes on to tell how when one is fatigued 



TO-DAY 69 

to a certain point, one loses the sense of propor- 
tion, continuing with little things and fretting 
over them because one has not the strength to 
stop. 

BEGINNING TO-DAY 

There are many planners and dreamers in the 
land, and wonders would be accomplished by them, 
affecting all social and political life for the better, 
if they were not procrastinators. Many a man 
proposes good things for himself and others, but 
says, "I'll begin to-morrow," with the result that 
to-morrow never comes for his good proposals. 
One of Hawthorne's prominent characters is made 
to say, ''I have spent all my life in pursuit of to- 
morrow, being assured that to-morrow has some 
vast benefit or other in store for me. But I am 
now getting a little on in years, and must make 
haste, for unless I overtake to-morrow soon, I be- 
gin to be afraid it will finally escape me." Some 
one suggests that he probably died the day be- 
fore he expected to overtake it, that if he had 
started in life with the inspiration of that maxim, 
"One to-day is worth two to-morrows," he would 
never have pursued to-morrow and all days would 
have been to-days. 

General Putman of Revolutionary War days 
was a good beginner. When the news came of 
the battle of Lexington, he v/as plowing. He un- 
harnessed his team, left the plow in the furrov/, 



70 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

mounted his horse, and without stopping to change 
his clothes, started. He began immediately, and 
this spirit made him a terror to his enemies. 

Too many young people are waiting for the 
more ''convenient season'' before beginning. 
Many a young man has been called to a wonder- 
ful ministry and has never answered the call for 
the reason that while waiting to get his affairs in 
better order at home before leaving, he has got- 
ten them in a worse condition. Our text says, 
''Son, go work to-day in my vineyard." The par- 
able is well worth studying. Even though twi- 
light be fast approaching, to-day is the time to 
begin. 



CHAPTER VI 

THOROUGHNESS 

''Well done, thou good and faithful servant/' 
—Matt. 25 :21. 

IT is reasonable to expect that the man 
''throughly," or thoroughly, ''furnished unto 
all good works,'' would naturally perform his 
works thoroughly. 

Thoroughness goes hand in hand with effi- 
ciency, concerning which much has been said and 
written in these days of highly organized business. 
There is a demand for efficiency everywhere. The 
efficient need not lack for opportunity or place. 

People are not born with efficiency; it is not 
the sort of thing that may be thrust upon us ; it 
is something to be acquired. It is a quality de- 
veloped by individuals in training, practise, self- 
discipline, intelligent thinking, and self-direction, 
and in the exercise of will-power. 

Webster defines the adjective "efficient," as: 
causing effect; producing results; actively oper- 
ative, capable ; characterized by energetic and use- 
ful activity. Social, church, or national efficiency 
is dependent upon the personal efficiency of those 

71 



72 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

who make up the group, and one of the most im- 
portant things that makes for personal efficiency 
is thoroughness. Many never become capable or 
efficient because they are slipshod and slack in 
their methods of doing things. Too many small 
items with which they are concerned from day to 
day, have for them a trifling and unimportant 
aspect ; details bore them, and the result is that a 
lack of finish characterizes their work. 

William Thayer, in writing on the subject of 
thoroughness, tells how Samuel Budget, a mer- 
chant, attributed his success to the law of thor- 
oughness. "He was wont to say," writes Mr. 
Thayer, '' 'In whatever calling a man is found he 
ought to strive to be the best in his calling: if 
only a shoeblack, he should try to be the best 
shoeblack in the neighborhood!' He endeavored 
to make this a rigid rule of his warehouse. When 
boys were introduced into his business, they were 
set to straightening old nails picked up about the 
establishment. Their promotion depended upon 
their doing this work well. If they were thor- 
ough in straightening old nails for a given time, 
they were promoted to serve under the bag- 
mender. If they were equally thorough in mend- 
ing bags, they were made messengers. And thus 
on and up to the highest position in the business, 
thoroughness was a fixed condition. Mr. Budget 
claimed that the boy who would not straighten 
nails well, would not do anything w^ell ; if he would 



THOROUGHNESS 73 

not be true in small matters, he would not be true 
under greater responsibilities." 

Jesus taught this principle Himself when He 
said, *'He that is faithful in that which is least 
is faithful also in much : and he that is unjust in 
the least is unjust also in much." Thayer also 
tells of an English statesman of whom it is said 
to his credit and honor, that a member of the 
House of Commons attacked him in assembly, 
and made fun of his humble origin, saying sneer- 
ingly, 

"I remember when you blacked my father's 
boots." 

The assembly was thrilled when the states- 
m,an replied to him, ''Well, Sir, did I not black 
them well?" 

The worker who acquires the habit of leaving 
little tasks unfinished, allowing himself to think 
in each instance, "No one will be the wiser," or, 
''It will never be noticed," does not hurt those 
who are over him, or any one else, so much as he 
hurts himself. For a person to do work care- 
lessly because he imagines no one will see it but 
himself weakens his conscience, destroys his self- 
respect and lessens his opportunity for spiritual 
growth and social advancement. 

A carpenter was once called upon to repair a 
back fence. The man who employed him sug- 
gested that he need not take much pains with the 
work because it was only a back fence and not 



74 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

likely to be noticed by any one. But the carpen- 
ter was deaf to this and did his work thoroughly 
because he believed that "whatever is worth do- 
ing at all, is worth doing well." Later, the very 
man who employed him was one of a number who 
had an important building contract to let. When 
the matter of the selection of the contractor came 
up, this man remembered the carpenter who in- 
sisted upon repairing his back fence so well and 
he recommended him. The conscientious carpen- 
ter was rewarded because he was thorough. 

Thoroughness does not mean that one lose 
sight of relative values and spend more time and 
material upon a given piece of work than is nec- 
essary. Some workmen are careful and fussy 
about what they do, but they have no sense of 
the importance of dispatch. 

Poor work may go unnoticed, but that which 
is thoroughly and conscientiously done is sure to 
testify for its executor in some way. The world 
is full of half-done or merely passable work, and 
because it is so common it attracts no more than 
ordinary attention, if any; but excellence and 
finish call forth admiration anywhere. 

A splendid attitude to maintain is that in 
which I as an individual refuse to leave work un- 
finished or poorly done because I myself must see 
it or think about it whether anybody else may see 
it or not. Too many people are governed in what 
they do by the approval or disapproval of others, 



THOROUGHNESS 75 

when they should be governed more by a good con- 
science or self-approval. Before others some men 
are scrupulous and even fastidious in the matter 
of personal conduct, but isolate them from society, 
and the real test of character begins. Toleration 
for general disorder and dirt about themselves 
and their immediate environment shows a lack 
of self-respect. People of this character live on 
a low spiritual plane. True culture and refine- 
ment in an individual will stand the test of isola- 
tion. 

It is possible to live on a plane where we can 
derive pleasure and satisfaction from a devotion 
to the principles of order, cleanliness, and thor- 
oughness for the sake of these principles them- 
selves, even where it seems for the most part that 
just we ourselves as individuals are concerned. 

Surely thoroughness characterizes God's work 
as a creator even in the smallest details. "The 
flower that 'wastes its sweetness on the desert air' 
is just as lovely and fragrant, and its conforma- 
tion as perfect as that which blooms in window or 
garden. The moss which Mungo Park picked up 
in the wilds of Africa, five hundred miles from 
the nearest European settlement, was such proof 
of divine skill and care as to inspire his soul with 
fresh hope, that bade him rise and live." 

Whatever our lot may be, however lowly our 
calling, we must strive to do our work well — ^to 
do our best so that as workmen before God we 



76 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

need not be ashamed, and when a review of our 
work takes place on the final day, we may have 
the hope of hearing, *'V/eIl done, thou good and 
faithful servant," pronounced upon our efforts. 



CHAPTER VII 

STRAIGHTEN UP — A PROTEST AGAINST ROUND 
SHOULDERS 

''He that ivalketh uprightly walketh surely.'' 
— Proverbs 10:9. 

IT is said that when Sir John French was in 
command of the cavalry at Canterbury, he 
chanced one day to meet a rather slouching 
young recruit. 

"Tell me, lad," said the new chief of the Gen- 
eral Staff, "does this city belong to you T' 

"No, Sir !" replied the blushing, military fledg- 
ling with a salute. 

"Never mind," said French, "straighten your- 
self up, pull yourself together, and look as though 
it did." 

The matter of proper carriage or an erect body 
position is of such importance as to merit treat- 
ment in a chapter by itself. It has a great de il 
to do with the maintenance of good health, and its 
bearing on one's personal influence can hardly be 
estimated. 

If universal military training were adopted in 
the United States, and it did little more for the 
general welfare of the country than to get the 

77 



78 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

kinks out of the backs of our young men, it would 
be well worth the time. Then we should have some- 
thing similar instituted for young women also. 

A fine, straight figure belongs to the class of 
exceptions. There are usually one or more of eight 
or ten different things that destroy the grace of 
the average person's physical bearing : a flat chest, 
round shoulders, stooped and high shoulders, a 
hollow back, or a bowed one, and a protuberant 
abdomen. 

A New York magistrate is quoted in a news- 
paper as saying, 'There is an army of slab-sided, 
round-shouldered, fish-eyed young men in this 
city, their fingers stained with nicotine, aimless, 
starting from anywhere and going nowhere, open 
to any crime, and a dangerous menace to the com- 
munity. They sponge on their mothers or sisters, 
spending their time in idleness. I should like to 
be a sergeant with about eight stripes on my arm 
and have two hundred of them down on Long 
Island for drill. I'd get something out of them 
or make life miserable for them." The accom- 
panying illustration is a very good representation 
of a young man of this type. 

The graceless, however, are of a large varietj^ 
and range from the sort of young men described 
by the judge to the puffy-eyed, fleshy, round- 
shouldered, flat-chested, abnormally large-waisted 
business man who has allowed himself to become 
in appearance much like a large grain bag half 




From Rehse 



'SLAB-SIDED, ROUND-SHOULDERED/ 



80 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

filled, bulky below and tapering toward the top. 
Such a man's weight is a great drain on his 
strength, and he is destined either to eke out an 
existence with only about one-third the energy 
he should have, or die ten or twenty years before 
his time. The range includes the drooping, round- 
shouldered office girl who imagines that rouge, 
powder, and the latest styles in clothing and high 
heeled shoes can make up for all she lacks in grace 
and good health. 

Solomon says that '*the Lord hateth a proud 
look.'' None of us admires the man who 
thrusts out his chest like a pouter pigeon, 
and struts. From Europe has come a new word 
to designate hypocrisy, make-believe, and boast- 
ing, — to pretend to be something better or more 
than what you are. It is "swank." The world is 
tired of the "swank," of obsolete autocracies with 
their vain show and pomp, and worn-out mon- 
archies with their tinsel and gaudy liveries. It is 
also tired of "swank" and pretend-to-be in men. 
Excuse us from those who bear themselves erect 
and hold their heads high because of their money 
or class distinction, — ^the haughty, insolent, over- 
bearing, and supercilious, who snub their fellow- 
men, whom they regard as their inferiors. 

On the other hand, there are people of the 
false-modest tsrpe, who go to the other extreme 
and imagine that a great display of meekness and 
humility is a virtue and will better enable them 



STRAIGHTEN UP 81 

to accomplish their ends. To this class belongs 
Dickens's Uriah Heep in David Copper field, "high 
shouldered and bony/' who was always insisting 
that 'Ve're so 'umble." He was of the fawning, 
lick-the-dust sort, but there was a good deal of 
"swank" about him, for he proved to be a "grand 
rascal" in the end. 

Egotism is persistently expressing itself either 
in a self-congratulatory or a self-deprecatory way. 
Some mistake vanity for self-respect, and others 
false modesty for humility. The proud man is 
likely to hold himself pompously erect and the 
"we're-so-'umble" kind, conspicuously bent over. 
One type is as bad as the other, and if God hates 
a proud look. He hates one that denotes or be- 
tokens false humility and sham meekness. 

Some people seem to have the feeling that to 
straighten up and pull themselves together, as 
Sir John French puts it, would result in an atti- 
tude that would solicit criticism to the effect that 
they were vain and proud. It is a man's right 
and duty to carry himself in an erect, upright po- 
sition. He is under no obligations to any crouch- 
ing or creeping thing to go through the world in 
a bent-over fashion. He owes it to himself, to 
God, and to the rest of the world to walk, stand, 
and sit erect. It is almost a religious duty for, 
besides having to do with one's health, influence, 
and success generally, it has a great bearing on 
the tone of one's psychic, or spiritual condition. 
Y.H.Y.C.— 6. 



82 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

A true Christian is an ambassador of Jesus 
Christ, and he should be bold and unashamed be- 
fore his fellow men. He is even a child of a King, 
and a proper conception of his redeemed state, of 
his spiritual heritage, and of his place as a co- 
worker with God should cause him to stand erect 
before the highest world-potentate without fear 
OY abashment. God's young man must have in 
his attitude and physical bearing something that 
will command the respect of men, both of high 
and low estate, and bring honor and glory to the 
great cause which he represents. 

Unfortunately there are many mature people, 
the bend of whose backs has become crystalized, 
so to speak, and there is but little hope of their 
ever being able to acquire a perfectly correct pos- 
ture. Nevertheless, could such people be brought 
to appreciate fully the benefits that would come to 
them physically by freer and less hampered func- 
tioning of the lungs, they would be induced to 
lessen the bend as much as possible, however tire- 
some and difficult the task might be at first. 

Doctor Gulick, writing in this connection, 
says, ''It is clear enough that a stooping posture 
must decrease the efficiency of the heart and lungs, 
and injure the work of the liver. But its bad ef- 
fects do not stop there. When the abdomen is 
habitually relaxed and allowed to sag forward — 
as usually happens when people stand badly — ail 
the important organs inside slip downward a lit- 



STRAIGHTEN UP 83 

tie; they lie lower than they should. I have often 
known the lower border of the stomach to have 
dropped two or three inches from this single 
cause. Just why this condition should result as 
it does, I am still uncertain. Perhaps it is due to 
a stretching of the nerves or blood vessels — but at 
all events, the tone of the whole system is sure to 
be lowered ; the organs grow flabby and do their 
work sluggishly. Time and again I have suc- 
ceeded in curing troubles which I was assured 
were organic and serious just by getting the pa- 
tient to stand up straight, to walk correctly, and 
to breathe deeply." 

The time to straighten the tree is when it is 
young. It is not enough to keep after the chil- 
dren and merely tell them to straighten up. It is 
the parents' and the teachers' duty to take the 
time and pains to educate them early regarding 
the injury they will do themselves physically and 
otherwise by allowing themselves to become 
round-shouldered. The stimulus to maintain a 
correct posture at all times must come from the 
child's inner consciousness as well as from with- 
out. An unsympathetic, nagging attitude on the 
part of others, without imparting to the young 
boy or girl the proper information, may result in 
causing him or her to become discouraged and ob- 
stinately persist in the wrong posture. I know a 
man who says his home folks discouraged rather 
than encouraged him with their constant, unkind- 



84 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ly censure, and now he is hopelessly bent over. 

Artificial helps to straighten out round 
shoulders are generally considered by physicians 
and physical culture experts as failures. The 
only effective shoulder brace is a resolute deter- 
mination of mind and will that the straightening 
be accomplished and an erect posture main- 
tained. One's volitions and purposes regarding 
one's back must be straightened first and the 
crook will gradually disappear. 

It may prove to be extremely difficult and tir- 
ing, at times, for the young man or woman to ac- 
quire an erect body position who has never tried 
hard to correct the tendency to stoop. It may 
take up most of his or her thought and attention, 
at first, but soon a correct posture will become a 
habit. One month of persistent, determined ef- 
fort in this direction wiU accomplish wonders. 
In military schools, cadets soon acquire the habit 
because their officers never permit them to assume 
an ungraceful position either marching, stand- 
ing, or sitting, without making life uncomfortable 
for them. 

Many people do not know the first thing about 
correct posture. The physical director of a col- 
lege gymnasium who tells his class of freshmen 
to stand up straight the first time will find many 
of them doing perfectly ridiculous and unnatural 
things in their efforts to obey the order, and it is 
often more difficult for him to correct erroneous 



STRAIGHTEN UP 85 

tendencies to straighten the line than one 
might suppose. One man will raise his chest too 
high, another will get his shoulders back while his 
neck remains curved like that of a gander. An- 
other will have his shoulders and neck back but 
forget all about his sagging abdomen. 

Each person should make a thorough study of 
his condition and try to correct it. Looking side- 
wise into a long mirror is helpful. Two simple 
suggestions, or rules that should always be borne 
in mind are, "Keep the stomach in, and the neck 
pressing against the collar button at the back." 
If the head is held up and the neck well back, 
the tendency will be for the shoulders to take care 
of themselves. 



CHAPTER VIII 

READY ON SHORT NOTICE, OR A TALK 
CHIEFLY ABOUT CLOTHES 

''Modest appareV'—l Tim. 2:9. 

THOUGH the clothes problem is as old as 
Adam, it has never been solved satisfac- 
torily, and a good many of the troubles 
man is born to, "as the sparks fly upward," are 
traceable to it. It is not my object in this chap- 
ter, to arrive at some new or original conclusions 
about clothes, but there are a few practical sug- 
gestions to be offered regarding them, that the 
young man or woman, studying to show himself 
or herself approved, would do well to bear in mind. 
St. Paul told Timothy that the women should 
''adorn themselves in modest apparel,'' and this 
is a good injunction for the men to heed as well as 
the women. Some one has characterized this age 
as one of "drab and black." The tendency in 
these times among people of refinement is away 
from the gay, spectacular, and showy in wearing 
apparel. 

In his book. My Four Years in Germany, 
Mr. James W. Gerard, late Ambassador to the 
Imperial Court, tells of one of his visits to the 
86 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 87 

Kaiser at the new Palace at Potsdam, before the 
outbreak of the war. Colonel House accompanied 
him, and, as faithful exponents of our west- 
ern civilization, they were dressed in simple, black 
dress-suits. It was on the occasion of the Schip- 
penfest, a feast given at the palace in honor of a 
battalion of picked Prussian soldiers. At meal 
time Mr. Gerard and Colonel House sat directly 
across the table from the Kaiser, who, says Mr. 
Gerard, was in a very good humor. The Kaiser 
and the soldiers were evidently arrayed in gay mil- 
itary uniforms and the women in very fine 
costumes. Our Americans in their dark clothes, 
no doubt, presented a striking contrast. In the 
course of the meal, the Emperor told Mr. Gerard 
that he and Colonel House, in their black dress- 
suits, looked like a couple of crows, and that they 
were like two undertakers at a feast and spoiled 
the picture. 

On another occasion, when the different mem- 
bers of the embassy and their wives attended a 
court ceremonial, they were shown up a long 
stair-case, at the top of which was a guard of 
honor, arrayed in the costume of the time of 
Frederick the Great. They passed through long 
lines of cadets from military schools, dressed as 
pages, in white, with short breeches and pow- 
dered wigs. The women who were presented to 
the Emperor and Empress on their thrones, had 
to wear long trains to their dresses, and as they 



88 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

entered the throne room, pages in white straight- 
ened the ladies' trains with long sticks. After 
they had been presented to their majesties, they 
had to pass out of the room sidewise in order not 
to turn their backs on the royalties, and this, says 
Mr. Gerard, is "something of a feat when tow- 
ing a train about fifteen feet long/' 

You are familiar with descriptions of the 
splendor and glitter of the royal court of Great 
Britain. I have seen the King and Queen go to 
Parliament in the famous old Royal State Coach, 
built in 1761. The drivers and footmen in the 
procession were richly attired in fantastic suits 
of velvet, with gold trimmings, powdered wigs, 
cocked hats, knee breeches, and white stockings. 
In their elaborate display of every color in the 
rainbow, they reminded you of the stories you 
have read of the medieval customs and costumes 
of the English, and of the times of George the 
Third. 

The day has come when all this medieval para- 
phernalia and golden coaches should be done 
away with or relegated to museums and the poor 
relieved of the burden of having to contribute in 
taxes to the expense of the continuance of these 
stage performances by the royalties of the world. 

There is a great deal of foolishness yet in the 
dress of young men and women everywhere. 
Some time ago I read how the American Can 
Company had made small tin cans and shipped 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 89 

them to the natives of some tropical country, 
where the dusky women of the tribe bedecked 
themselves with them for jewelry. It is interest- 
ing to note how some young people are not satis- 
fied unless they can display a good deal of cheap 
jewelry and loud colors in dress. The young man 
who wears fancy green socks, a pink tie, and a 
striped red and yellow shirt may live in this age, 
but he properly belongs to Elizabethan times, — 
the sixteenth century, when men padded their 
stockings to show good calves, adorned themselves 
with bracelets and ear-rings, wore great plumes 
of many colors in their hats, and brilliantly dyed 
coats. 

Those who show good taste and common sense 
in the matter of clothing constitute the minority 
rather than the majority. A distressing lack of 
refinement and Christian modesty are everywhere 
manifested by many old and young women who 
wear short, unbecoming, tight-fitting, low-necked, 
sleeveless costumes, in bright reds and scarlets, 
which tempt men to think things they should not, 
and in many cases cause the women themselves 
to be rated low in self-respect and virtue. Many 
a woman's dress has destroyed a young man's 
soul. 

Some American ambassadors have almost dis- 
graced us in foreign countries by adopting some 
un-American species of diplomatic uniform to 
wear to court. I am glad Mr. Gerard did not stoop 



90 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

to this, even though William Hohenzollern was 
disposed to make a little fun of him. His black 
suit served as a final democratic protest to the 
extravagance in dress of which the Imperial court 
was so guilty, 

St. Paul was writing sense when he en- 
joined the Hebrews not to be "conformed to the 
world" and when to Timothy he recommended 
"modest apparel." Young men or young women 
of Christian principles who wear plain, common- 
sense, "modest" clothing may have some fun 
poked at them by light-headed, frivolous, worldly 
folk of to-day's passing show, but why care? 

CHANGING one's CLOTHES QUICKLY 

There are some people who seldom present a 
good appearance, even though they are continually 
buying new clothes. There are others who seem 
to know how to make a suit wear for all 
time, and manage, somehow or other, to present 
always a neat and good appearance, though un- 
able to spend a great deal for clothing, as is the 
case with many students, endeavoring to get 
through school, or with Christian missionaries 
who are not receiving a regular salary. Many do 
not knov/ the first thing about how to take care of 
their clothes. After all, the wearing of clothes 
well is something of an art, and the care and pres- 
ervation of them a science. 

A certain kinsman of mine, whom I have 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 91 

known since he was five years old, always seemed 
to me to have a great deal of trouble with his 
clothes that he might have avoided, but for one 
thing. He usually had plenty of money to spend for 
them, and he showed more than ordinary good 
taste and good judgment in his choice of materi- 
als. He took particular care to select garments 
that were well made. Incidentally this is a fair 
indication of quality, for manufacturers or tailors 
do not, as a rule, take pains to give a garment ex- 
cellent finish if the goods are cheap. But there 
was one thing that my kinsman never acquired the 
habit of doing, at least up until I saw him last, 
and that was, changing his clothes readily and 
quickly. He tells how when he was a very small 
boy, just learning to wear pants, he would put 
them on wrong side before occasionally — a mis- 
take little boys are wont to make often — and on 
discovering the blunder, would take one leg out 
and twist his pants around the other leg for ten 
or fifteen minutes wondering if there were not 
some possible means of getting them on right 
side before without having to go to the trouble of 
taking them off altogether. The dislike of bother- 
ing about dressing and undressing seemed ever 
to remain with him, much to the sorrow of his 
clothes. One need not be surprised to see him 
tinkering around an automobile with his best 
trousers on, running ridiculous risks of getting 
grease spots on them. He was skilful at the 



92 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

tinkering business, but I am certain that he was 
less skilful at keeping spots off. 

A pair of overalls is considerably cheaper than 
a pair of all-wool trousers, and if a person has 
very much tinkering to do, he should not do it in 
his Sunday clothes. If you have a stove to put up, 
do not burden yourself with the double task of 
making the joints fit and of keeping the soot off 
your best clothes at the same time. This sort of 
thing lessens one's efficiency. Put on suitable 
clothes and go at it like an expert, lest in your 
awkwardness, attempting two things at one time, 
you experience an accident similar to what one 
man did at such work when he let a joint of pipe 
fall down over his head and, as the story goes, cut 
off both his ears. Such, says the narrator, was 
his penalty as a layman for fooling with ma- 
chinery. 

A great deal of extravagance and unnecessary 
soiling of clothes might be avoided if people would 
use more care with regard to changing their 
clothes when they should. Many students do not 
hesitate to enter into a rough game on the cam- 
pus and subject a good suit of clothes to treat- 
ment that would put to the severest test the best- 
made athletic suit. It does not take many min- 
utes for a woman to ruin a good dress in the 
kitchen, or very many days to render it shabby- 
looking doing odd bits of housework without 
an apron. 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 93 

The habit of changing one's clothes readily and 
quickly can be acquired, and must be acquired if 
one hopes to dress well at all, whether one can af- 
ford much or little money for wearing apparel. 

When I went to college and had to take a re- 
quired course of gymnasium work, it was not un- 
common to have to run down about six flights of 
stairs, and a block to the gymnasium, undress, 
put on gym clothes, stow away my street clothes 
in a small locker, and be down on the gymnasium 
floor in ten or eleven minutes from the time I 
started from the class-room. Then the reverse or- 
der of events had to be gone through with after 
exercise and bath in about the same interval in 
order to get back in time to another class. Men 
who never hurried in their lives learned to act 
quickly getting to their exercises. When a stu- 
dent is striving hard to avoid losing credit for a 
whole course of study by being tardy more times 
than the rules allow, he is often much surprised 
to discover how quickly it is actually possible to 
dress and undress. 

It should be a part of a young man's or a 
young woman's education in these days to acquire 
something of the skill of a lightning-change art- 
ist. In Queen Elizabeth's day, when women 
"wore vast, frizzled, and sometimes horned erec- 
tions on their heads, and huge ruffs round their 
necks" which "rose at the back sometimes as high 
as this head-dress," and "absurd hoops, surround- 



94 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ing the waist with a wire structure that might al- 
most be used as a table/' a contemporary satirist 
says that, *'A ship was sooner rigged than a wo- 
man/' But times are different, and a young man 
or woman, who keeps up with them, cannot afford 
to wear the same clothes for every imaginable oc- 
casion, nor be all day getting rigged or unrigged. 
Besides, "The king's business requires haste/' 

A person can not change his clothes quickly 
unless he keeps an orderly clothes closet, and his 
garments in their places when not in use. It is 
well to have particular hooks for particular pieces 
of clothing so that one may be able, in the dark, 
to put one's hand on the garment wanted. 

The man who keeps a disorderly clothes closet 
and has a habit of going into it to hunt for his 
things with a lighted match is a dangerous per- 
son to have around. He should be sent into exile 
somewhere, lest he run risks of burning down 
the town. 

I should recommend that a man as busy as 
the President of the United States, have a valet, 
three or four of them if he needs them, to look 
after his clothes. A man in his position should 
not have to bother about shining his own shoes or 
even brushing his own coat. His services are too 
much in demand. But most ordinary people, how- 
ever extraordinary they hope to become, can not 
afford valets, and it is no disgrace in this country 
for one to look after his own apparel. I remem- 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 95 

ber hearing a story about Abraham Lincoln, to 
this effect : Some dignitary or other from England 
visited him when he was President, and saw him, 
on one occasion, shining his shoes. 

**Why," said the astonished Englishman, "do 
you shine your own shoes?" 

'"Certainly," replied Lincoln, "v/hose shoes do 
you shine?" 

Unfortunately, I do not know all the particu- 
lars or even the facts of this incident, but I believe 
it to be very much like Abraham Lincoln. 

The man who is not fortunate enough to have 
somebody else to shine his shoes, sew on his but- 
tons, and press his clothes, should learn to do 
these things himself. Even if he does not have to 
bother about such things it is worth while to know 
how. At any rate these affairs must be attended 
to, and it is a greater disgrace for a per- 
son to present a run-down-at-the-heel appear- 
ance, than to be his own bootblack and tailor. We 
heard a great deal during the war about the care 
the soldiers in training had to give their own 
clothes. If soldiers have to wash their own 
clothes, sew on buttons, and darn socks, it will not 
do a civilian any harm to know by practical ex- 
perience what it means to press his own clothes 
properly. (In the appendix of this book, are some 
instructions with regard to the cleaning and 
pressing of clothes.) 

Shining one's shoes is a matter so simple that 



96 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

little needs to be said. One should use care in 
selecting polishes and dressings that do not con- 
tain turpentine or other ingredients harmful to 
leather. In order to make shoes last well one 
should pay special attention to the heels and not 
permit them to become badly worn down. A heel 
worn down on one side will cause a shoe to lose 
its shape very soon and be sent prematurely to 
the junk man, besides raise a suspicion of care- 
lessness and negligence against the wearer. The 
shoemaker often complains that people do not 
send their shoes to him soon enough, but fre- 
quently allow the inner sole to become so badly 
worn that repairs are either very difficult or im- 
practical. There is no economy in this, especially 
when good leather is scarce and expensive. 

There is something to be said here about the 
selection of shoes. Not every person is aware 
that there are several layers to a hide. The out- 
side layer is more firm, more durable, and smooth- 
er than the other layers, which are called "split 
leather." Cheap leather goods, cheap suitcases, 
and parts of the uppers of shoes are often made 
of split leather. Sometimes it is difficult to dis- 
tinguish it from the leather of the first layer, as 
manufacturers are able, in many cases, to give it a 
deceptive gloss and smoothness. But split leather 
is never so good, for in time it is likely to become 
rough and difficult to keep polished. It does not 



§ 

QD 
H 

H 
H 
QD 

I 

H 
GQ 



s 

d 




V 4^ 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 97 

pay to buy cheap shoes. Buy good ones, well 
sewed, and take care of them. 

When a suit of clothes is not in use, it should 
be hung up out of the dust. In two different 
books I have examined on the clothes subject, 
the authors agree that the little loops placed by 
tailors at the back of the neck on coats for hang- 
ing them by, only serve to pull them out of shape. 
There are special occasions when one is traveling, 
that the coat loop is serviceable for short inter- 
vals of time, but one should not put a coat away in 
the wardrobe without a hanger. There are nu- 
merous varieties of coat hangers, some of which 
can be purchased for five cents each in the five- 
and-ten-cent stores. There are others more ex- 
pensive that fold up nicely for traveling. Some 
one has suggested that any one can supply him- 
self with hangers by cutting the hoop of a clean 
barrel into sections a foot and a half long, and 
tying a cord to the middle of each by which to 
hang it. 

The man who puts his best suit away when 
it needs mending or buttons sewed on may be 
called upon to go som.ewhere suddenly and find 
that it will have to go unmended or cause him to 
be late in keeping an appointm^ent on account of 
having to wait until repairs are made. It is well 
to attend to these matters before the clothes are 
put away. 

A bad practise that helps to ruin the shape of 
Y.H.Y.C.—;. 



98 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

a coat is that of keeping the pockets heavily loaded 
down with note-books and trumpery of all kinds. 
Some men unnecessarily carry enough in the 
shape of old letters, unmailed letters, large note- 
books, paper clippings, circulars, handkerchiefs, 
and even newspapers, to fill a good-sized handbag. 
No coat can look presentable long, which must 
always be loaded down with such a cargo. 

Much might be said about fabrics, and how to 
purchase clothing, but the limits of this book 
hardly permit. Good material is cheapest in the 
long run. A suit of clothes that is of shoddy ma- 
terial or half cotton, may look well for a time, but 
it is likely to stretch out of shape soon and prove 
a great disappointment. I know of no certain 
easy way of telling immediately whether a piece 
of goods has cotton in it or not. Some goods are 
so woven as to make it difficult for even an ex- 
pert to tell whether there is cotton in it by just 
feeling it or looking at it. It might be of interest 
to some to know how expert buyers test goods 
when they purchase it in large quantities, though 
such tests are hardly practical for one who is buy- 
ing goods for a suit of clothes. Two samples of 
a piece of goods are treated in the following man- 
ner. One is boiled in caustic potash. Wool, be- 
ing animal matter, dissolves; cotton, being veg- 
etable matter does not. The other test is a dye 
test. The second piece is exposed to the sun and 
rain for ten days or more. If the weather is dry. 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 99 

it is sprinkled with water at intervals. The 
student who is interested in textures, may wish 
to try these experiments. 

One writer says that clothes which fit well 
wear twice as long — the material being the same 
in both cases — as clothes that fit badly. This is 
good to bear in mind when visiting the tailor or 
clothing store. I believe it a matter of economy 
to order, when possible, two pairs of trousers 
to one coat and vest when one's suit is tailor-made. 
The trousers can be worn alternately and one is 
less likely to presejit a baggy-at-the-knee appear- 
ance much of the time. One pair of trousers laid 
away properly, has a chance to regain shape while 
the other is being worn. 

WHAT COMES OUT IN THE WASH 

When you send your washing to the laundry, 
be cautious. The laundry folk have a way of 
reading one's character in one's soiled clothes. 
Each garment tells its story. One may testify to 
carelessness, another to general disorderliness, 
and another to untidiness and to a prejudice 
against soap and water. 

There is no economy in permitting one's clothes 
to become very dirty. A laundress would much 
prefer to wash two garments that are only 
moderately soiled than a badly soiled one. It 
takes more rubbing, and wear and tear to clean 
the latter, and nothing is saved. Do not 



100 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE ' 

permit handkerchiefs and hosiery to go to the 
laundry badly wadded. Spread the handker- 
chiefs out flat, and roll them up in a respectable 
bundle. If possible, one should endeavor to have 
a supply of handkerchiefs and hose sufiicient to 
remove the temptation to keep such articles in 
service longer than they should be between 
washings. 

CLOTHES AND INFLUENCE 

Som^e people imagine that to be particular 
about matters of dress and personal cleanliness is 
indicative of pride or dudishness. I shall not 
waste tim.e and words commenting at length on 
the fop or dude whose whole time and thought 
are given to his clothes, whose only ambition is 
to see how good a show-case dummy or wax 
figure he can make of himself. What is said 
here about personal appearance has to do with 
the character of one's influence, with his effi- 
ciency, and with the sort of example he sets be- 
fore others. 

There are those who imagine that a certain 
amount of personal neglect, disorderliness, and 
indifference to whether one has enough and 
proper clothing are indications of humility and 
piety. Such people are inclined to take literally the 
scripture, "Take no thought .... what ye shall 
put on," and be content with making any kind 
of appearance. The early Christians and mar- 
tyrs were indeed often destitute of clothing. 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 101 

During times of great persecution and afflic- 
tion, they had to flee for their lives and hide 
in "dens and caves of the earth/' One ren- 
dering of the Greek word for "take no thought'' 
in the above scripture is, "be not over anxious." 
The accompanying verses prove that God is inter- 
ested in what we must have to eat, drink, and 
wear. Jesus did not mean to imply to His dis- 
ciples that they were to be indifferent about their 
personal appearance or neglect to care for such 
clothing as they had. He recognized these neces- 
sities and assured them that such things would 
be provided if they would seek first the kingdom 
of God and His righteousness. 

A person who is deliberately untidy in his ap- 
pearance may make a loud profession of godli- 
ness, but he is inconsistent, and by no means liv- 
ing up to the Christian standard. 

There are many intelligent, and even talented 
people, whose influence is not what it might be 
because in little things they lack gentility, on 
account of little disagreeable traits of character. 
Cleanliness, neatness, and kindliness of manner 
have an incalculable bearing on one's success, 
either in the winning of souls, or in the transac- 
tion of business. 

Shortly after Mr. Frank Vanderlip, of Chi- 
cago, got out of overalls and the machine shop to 
work as a newspaper reporter, he asked the dean 
of a commercial school this question: 



102 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

*'What is the one great thing to help a man 
to succeed?" 

'To look as if you had already succeeded," 
replied the dean. 

From that time on, Vanderlip gave more at- 
tention to his personal appearance and he made 
rapid strides to phenomenal success in business. 

If you are uncertain at any time whether or 
not your appearance is just what it should be, 
the safest plan is to give the clothes brush, the 
soap, or the razor, as the case may be, the bene- 
fit of the doubt. The soldiers in training during 
the war were required to shave every day, and to 
do so quickly. To many unparticular men, shaving 
is unnecessarily boresome; they require a great 
deal of time to make up their minds to submit to 
the process, and they make a great deal of fuss 
about it generally. I find that New York business 
men shave every day, and a heavy beard is no ex- 
cuse. One never knows what a day may bring 
forth. The early morning is the best time, and if 
you keep your shaving tools in order and your 
razor blades sharp, the operation should require 
but four or five minutes. Steaming the razor or 
immersing it in very warm water, just before 
shaving, makes the edge keener. One whose face 
is exceptionally tender, should bathe it frequently 
in cold water to toughen it. Every man should 
have a good shaving outfit, and keep it in first 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 103 

class condition, whether he shaves himself always 
or not. 

READY TO TRAVEL 

This is an age of travel. The social and eco- 
nomic life of to-day is such as to require a great 
deal of it. Whether a person's particular kind 
of work requires much of it or not be should be 
prepared, in some degree, to take a trip, for an oc- 
casion may suddenly arise requiring him to do 
so. Many persons might be called upon oftener 
to go somewhere on business if it were not for 
the fact that everybody knows it would take them 
a week to get ready to go fifty miles away from 
home and be away only over night. My mother 
has crossed the Atlantic Ocean more than thirty 
times. So far as her personal effects are con- 
cerned she is usually ready for such a voyage with 
three or four hours' preparation, for her baggage 
is simple and she carries only necessary things. 
Her traveling bag is always kept in readi- 
ness, partly packed. Oh, the chaos and confusion, 
and the cleaning, hurrying, and worrying that 
some people experience when they get ready to 
take a little trip! 

Every modern young man or woman, and es- 
pecially divinity students, social workers, and 
missionaries, in whom I am particularly inter- 
ested, should be prepared for traveling. One 
should provide oneself with a good suitcase or 



104 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

traveling bag, and keep it ready for use. Small 
toilet articles are better for traveling than larger 
ones because they take up less room. A young 
man who anticipates having to go on a journey 
some day will not buy a large shaving mug 
weighing a pound and a half if he thinks of hav- 
ing to take it with him. A splendid thing to 
keep in one's traveling bag is a small laundry bag 
for soiled handkerchiefs and hose. It need not 
be larger than ten inches square, but it aids 
greatly in keeping the contents of one's suitcase 
in order. 



"FOR WHOSOEVER HATH, TO HIM SHALL BE GIVEN' 



If you have had a great deal of trouble with 
your clothing, and a hard time to keep supplied, 
begin to ask yourself if something other than a 
matter of too small an income, or of too little 
money to spend for clothes is not the cause. See 
if you cannot discover something of a wrong at- 
titude on your part about it all — that the fault 
lies within yourself. Resolve that what clothing 
you already have on hand shall be properly looked 
after. Make out a list of things you should have 
if you feel your standard is not what it should be. 
Study your list, decide the kind, number, and 
quality of the things you need. If you are not 
getting a regular income, and, as a missionary or 
Bible student, have devoted your life, like the 



READY ON SHORT NOTICE 105 

disciples, to God's service, His promise is that 
these necessaries will be provided without your 
having to be *'over anxious about them." They 
may not all come at once, but do not lose heart 
or faith. 

Do the very best with what you have. The 
man who has a little of the Lord's money to give 
is more likely to remember the needy preacher 
who is doing the best with what he has than one 
who, though in need, shows evidences of being 
careless and untrustworthy. 

The man who never keeps himself fit is usually 
unable to help anybody else. It is more often the 
people who are careful regarding these particulars 
that prove to be the most unselfish and have the 
most to give away. The man who has had his 
faith well exercised is not afraid to give, for he 
knows faith will again supply his need. Give and 
it shall be given to you. But how can one give un- 
less one has something to give? 'Tor whosoever 
hath, to him shall be given.'' 



CHAPTER IX 

MANNERS 

^'Having compassion one of another, love as 
brethren, he pitiful, he courteous." — 1 Peter 3:8. 

AMONG the many things that good manners 
involve are kindness, courtesy, thoughtful- 
ness, and, most important of all, unselfish- 
ness. ''Good manners,'' says Emerson, "are made 
up of petty sacrifices." So much that is rude, dis- 
tasteful, and unbecoming in behavior is traceable 
to too great a devotion to one's own interests and 
a disregard for those of others. 

Gentle manners are not to be acquired by 
simply reading about them in books of etiquette. 
They are the expression of whole-heartedness, 
breadth, sympathy, and spirituality. They re- 
sult from the culture both of the mind and spirit, 
and the exercise of self-control. 

The first step in the ethics of nice behavior is 
to eradicate as much as possible of whatever is 
narrow or selfish in our natures. We are so 
constituted as to feel our own pains first. One is 
usually cold or hungry before one is reminded 
that some one else may be needing clothing or 
food also. Our own sufferings, inconveniences, 
and wants we know directly and acutely, for we 
io6 



MANNERS 107 

feel them, while those of others we must imag- 
ine or endeavor to understand on the basis of 
our own experiences. A tendency to selfishness 
is something every one has to contend against 
continually. 

Few people at heart like to believe that they 
are selfish. Many enjoy having others tell them 
they are generous, and some have an unrefined 
way of referring to themselves as selfish, as if to 
invite compliments to the contrary. However, it 
may be a good policy to secretly assume that we 
are more likely to be selfish than unselfish and 
thus place ourselves in a better attitude to con- 
tend against so natural a disposition or predilec- 
tion. Let us not be too quick to take for granted 
our disinterestedness or benevolence. 

COURTESY 

Business men are fast finding out that dis- 
courtesy can be a firm's greatest liability and 
drawback. Many an enterprise has gone into 
bankruptcy because clerks were tolerated who 
did not know how to be courteous to customers. 
Some one has written how several years ago the 
railroads were generally guilty of permitting 
their employees to be discourteous to passengers 
with the result that good old mothers who had oc- 
casion to travel now and then would return home 
so provoked at discourteous trainmen that they in- 
stilled into their boys the fear of God and the hate 



108 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

of the railroads. When the boys grew up and be- 
came legislators, so much of the hate remained 
that the roads were made to suffer, in one v/ay or 
another, because of what discourtesy in former 
years had sown. Later, railroad companies, ap- 
preciating what courtesy means in dollars and 
cents, taught their men better. Elbert Hubbard, 
in his little booklet on Courtesy as an Asset, tells 
how a railroad conductor took up his ticket, smiled, 
and thanked him. "His manner toward me," he 
says, ''was not different from that toward the 
old woman across the aisle, who asked him what 
time it was, and on being told, asked another 
question thus: 'Say, Mister, are you sure your 

watch is right?' Everybody is really 

decent in spots ; and I have seen the gentle answer 
completely disarm a grouch who was bent on 
chewing the red rag of wordy warfare. Yes, 
courtesy is catching. A good railroad man can 
make a whole coach of passengers feel good." 

It is the little courtesies that mean so much, 
the courteous inflection of the voice in a simple 
answer, the kindly nod of the head, the smile, the 
thousand and one little things that preserve good 
humor when people come together — that put 
others at ease about us. "Defect in manners,'' 
says Emerson, "is usually the defect of fine per- 
ceptions." There are so many little things 
one should see and as many one should appear 
not to see. 



MANNERS 109 



RULES OF BEHAVIOR 



As strong as the gregarious instinct of hu- 
man beings may be, we are all so curiously dif- 
ferent from one another in our likes and dislikes 
that we might be everlastingly stepping on one 
another's toes were it not for the little conces- 
sions, — "petty sacrifices'' — we must make, and 
for the generally accepted rules that govern our 
conduct in one another's society. 

The regulation of motor traffic on a street like 
Fifth Avenue in New York City is one of the phe- 
nomenal things of modern times. Yet if every- 
body were suddenly to forget the rules and travel 
along as fancy led, the street would soon be turned 
into chaos and bedlam, piled high v/ith the wrecks 
of people and vehicles. 

If we would have affairs go along smoothly 
among ourselves, each must recognize certain 
rules of behavior acceptable to the majority of 
people of good breeding and refined tastes and 
act according to them. 

Again, Emerson says, 'Tine manners show 
themselves formidable to the uncultivated man." 
In another place he writes, "They aid our dealing 
and conversation, as a railway aids traveling, by 
getting rid of all avoidable obstructions of the 
road, and leaving nothing to be conquered but 
pure space." 

There are rules governing manners in gen- 



110 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

eral and manners in particular. The limits of 
this book do not admit of a full discussion of 
etiquette for all occasions, but there are a few 
general and particular suggestions it is well co 
bear in mind. 

QUIETNESS 

"Study to be quiet," wrote St. Paul to the 
Thessalonians, and, referring to Emerson's es- 
say on Manners again, we read, **A gentleman 
makes no noise; a lady is serene." Among the 
many difficult things young people have to learn 
who are well stored with nervous energy, and 
plenty of healthy, youthful vivacity, seek- 
ing expression and exercise, is that of not 
making unnecessary noise. It is especially 
trying when we are required to live in houses 
where there are so many things that rattle and 
bang at the least provocation. People must suf- 
fer less with nervousness where they live in 
tents, wear sandals, or go barefooted, have the 
ground for a floor and curtains for doors. But 
in a house where wooden floors and hollow, res- 
onating staircases respond noisily to the tread of 
hard, leather heels and where tricky draughts 
play with light, bangy doors, it is indeed some- 
thing of a study to know how to be quiet, — it is 
very nearly an art or a profession. Yet one who 
would be mannerly must learn to walk softly and 
to close doors quietly. 



MANNERS 111 

Incidentally, some people do not know how to 
open and close a door properly. Some use every 
method except the right one. Do not kick the 
door open, nor soil it by touching it with the 
hands. Use the knobs both in opening and 
closing it. 

In a little book called Gleanings from Pious 
Authors, which my father bought for a penny in 
a London book shop and gave to me, is the fol- 
lowing: ^'Household affairs ought insensibly to 
slide along, and represent a still current without 
noise or waves." The common, every-day routine 
affairs of some homes keep them in a continual up- 
roar. In like manner all the little personal af- 
fairs of some individuals are made public by the 
noticeable attention they give them, and so much 
they have to say about them. What is true about 
household affairs is true about so much that con- 
cerns us only personally. There are so many 
things that we should keep to ourselves. 

FAMILIAKITY 

This brings us to the subject of familiarity. 
There is a good deal of cold reserve, distance, and 
aloofness about many people that is reprehensi- 
ble. Another of Emerson's statements that I 
have marked is, "The secret of success in society, 
is a certain heartiness and sympathy.'' 

We must be cordial, friendly, democratic, giv- 
ing to others the best that is in us. Yet our au- 



112 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

thor says, ''I like that every chair should be a 
throne, and hold a king. I prefer a tendency to 
stateliness, to an .excess of fellowship/' Young 
people's tendency, and that of many older people 
in fact, is to be too chummy, to be too much to- 
gether, and neglect being alone for secret prayer 
or meditation. This results in spiritual and in- 
tellectual impoverishm.ent. 

Solomon said, ''Withdraw thy foot from thy 
neighbor's house ; lest he be weary of thee, and so 
hate thee." Too much of a good thing may be- 
come tiresome; beware lest your influence for 
good be endangered by others' becoming tired of 
you. 

INTRODUCTIONS 

When introducing one person to another, al- 
ways speak the name distinctly. If one does not 
hear the name plainly, one may say, '1 beg par- 
don, but I did not quite catch the name." 

When a student introduces a classmate to his 
mother, a good form is, "Mother, this is Joseph 
Smith ; Joseph, my mother, Mrs. Jones." "Aunt 
Ella, may I present Miss Fay? Miss Fay, Mrs. 
Doyle," is another good form. 

Introduce any one, no matter of what rank or 
distinction, to your mother in her own home. In 
general, introduce the younger to the elder, the 
gentleman to the lady. The forms, "May I in- 
troduce," or "May I present," or simply, "Mr. 



MANNERS 113 

Smith, this is Mr. Brown/' are preferable to 
"May I make you acquainted with/' or, ''Smith 
know Mr. Brown." 

HANDSHAKING 

Mrs. Margaret Sangster, in her book on Good 
Manners for all Occasions, writes, 'There is a 
Hmp, flabby hand which has no grip ; there is the 
hand which seizes yours in a vise-like grasp and 
crushes it until bones and ligaments ache; there 
is the cordial hand which carries the heart with 
it. 

"Gentlemen wait for a lady to extend the hand 
first, and a younger person the older one to make 
the first advances. 

"A lady or gentleman should always rise from 
the seat when offered the hand by any one. 

"Gentlemen should shake hands with each 
other, when introduced. An old gentleman may 
offer his hand to any lady. The glove need not 
be removed from a gentleman's hand, when greet- 
ing a lady. It was formerly usual to do so, but 
both custom and convenience sanction its reten- 
tion. It is not good form to make an apology for 
the omission." 

It is a woman's privilege to take the initiative 
and bow first when she meets a man whom she 
knows. The man, in turn, should take off his hat. 

"Young people should always be prompt to 
acknowledge the politeness of those who notice 
Y.H.Y.C— 8. 



114 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

them. They should never speak to their supe- 
riors first, as it might be construed as a mark of 
pert familiarity, but when a lady or gentleman 
wishes to salute them, they should respond with 
a pleasant 'good morning' or 'good evening,' as 
the case may be, accompanied by an agreeable 
smile. It is expected that a lady will always rec- 
ognize the gentleman first; a girl the boy; and, 
as a rule, the superior the inferior in age or 
station." 

''A gentleman meeting an acquaintance who is 
accompanied by ladies always removes his hat 
entirely in a passing salutation, even if he is not 
acquainted with the ladies.'' 

WHO FIRST 

**A gentleman always allows a lady to take 
precedence, except when the contrary is necessary 
for her protection ; for instance, he would go first 
to clear a way for her in a crowd, or leaving a 
building that is crowded. On entering a hotel 
dining-room she goes first." 

When a lady who accompanies a gentleman 
wishes to enter a store, he should hold the door 
open and allow her to enter first, if practicable. 
A gentleman never passes before a lady anywhere 
without an apology. 

CONVERSATION 

Half of being able to converse well is to be 



MANNERS 115 

able to pay attention and listen well. Do not 
monopolize all of the conversation. When con- 
versing do not look at the ground or off in an- 
other direction, but look, without staring, at the 
person with whom you are talking. Give an- 
other person the same attention that you would 
like him to give to you. 

"Do not too officiously supply a word or 
phrase if a speaker hesitate for a moment; he 
will think of the one he wants or supply another 
in good time.'' 

REPLYING 

When one person is called by another, the per- 
son called should answer, ''Yes, Mr. Jones,'' 
speaking the name as the case may be. Through- 
out the conversation one replies simply, "Yes" or, 
"No'' with a courteous inflection or tone of the 
voice. At the conclusion of the conversation one 
may repeat the name, with the final answer, re- 
mark, or expression of leave-taking, as for in- 
stance, "Very well, Mr. Brown." 

Children who have not learned to answer, 
"Yes," and "No" with a courteous inflection say : 
"No, Sir," "Yes, Sir," "No, Mamma," "No, 
Uncle," "No, Miss Smith." 

TELEPHONING 

The telephone has become so important a fac- 
tor in our social and business life that every one 



116 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

should know how to use it properly. There is 
a number of things to be said regarding its use, 
both from the standpoint of good manners and 
its mechanical construction. 

A case that attracted a good deal of attention 
in the New York newspapers is that of a 
man whose telephone was taken from him be- 
cause of his rudeness to telephone operators in 
the profane and abusive language he used, and 
his practise of placing the receiver and the trans- 
mitter close together in order to produce a tor- 
tuous, buzzing sound in the operator's ears. The 
courts upheld the Telephone Company's action in 
depriving him of service. 

A little pamphlet I have, published by the 
Telephone Company, says, ''Next time your tele- 
phone bell rings, answer with your firm name, 
and immediately the identity of each is fully and 
pleasantly established. 'Well?' or, 'Hello, who is 
this T are relics of the past and leave an unpleas- 
ant impression." 

In my dealing with courteous New York 
business men I have noticed that the above man- 
ner of telephone introduction is practised gen- 
erally. 

In a social telephone call the person called 
may claim the right to know the identity of the 
one calling before speaking his or her own name. 
We will say Mr. Jones wishes to telephone to 
Miss Brown. As soon as the operator says 



MANNERS 117 

"Number, please," Mr. Jones gives her the num- 
ber. Suppose Miss Brown's number were "Mel- 
rose 1263/' The Telephone Company prefers 
that the operator be given the number with a 
slight pause between the hundreds and tens. So 
Mr. Jones says, "Melrose, one two (pause) six 
three." The operator repeats the number after 
him and he acknowledges it, if she repeats it cor- 
lectly by saying, "Yes, please." Miss Brown may 
say, as soon as she hears her ring, "Miss Brown 
speaking," or, "Melrose, one two, six three an- 
swering." Mr. Jones replies, "Mr. Jones calling, 
I should like to talk to Miss Brown." In case 
Miss Brown has given her number instead of her 
name, she answers, "Miss Brown speaking," etc. 

It is a part of good telephone manners to be 
certain about the number. If there is the least 
doubt about it, one should look it up. It is an- 
noying to have one's number called by mistake, 
and one so called should have an apology. 

The ordinary desk telephone gives best ser- 
vice when it is held vertically or stands in an up- 
right position on a flat, level surface. "Just back 
of the mouthpiece and back of the thin metal dia- 
phragm which first picks up the spoken word, 
there is a small brass drum partially filled with 
carbon crushed to about the size of granulated 
sugar. The function of this granulated carbon 
is to gather up the sound waves recorded by the 
diaphragm and transpose them into terms of 



118 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

electrical vibrations which will carry the vary- 
ing inflections of your voice out over the wires. 
If you lean back .... and talk up into the trans- 
mitter, the little carbon granules 'pack' against 
the front of the little drum and your voice will 
sound 'muddy' and 'thick' to the listener; or, if 
you hold the telephone horizontally on your lap 
and lean forward to talk down into the mouth- 
piece, the little granules fall away from the dia- 
phragm and your voice will sound weak at the 
other end." 

If you wish to recall the operator, do not move 
the receiver hook up and down rapidly. The 
operator's switchboard signal lamp "operates 
when — and only when — ^the receiver hook is 
worked slowly, for the hook opens and closes the 
current just as does an electric lighting switch.'' 

Speak directly into the mouthpiece and do 
not pitch the voice too high. Speak moderately 
loud and clear on a relatively low pitch. The 
sound vibrations of a high-pitched voice are short 
and quick, while those of lower-pitched voices 
are less frequent and the transmitter transmits 
them more easily. 

MISCELLANEOUS HINTS 

All matters of the toilet should be left to the 
dressing room. 

The use of the handkerchief should be char- 
acterized by a certain delicacy. 

One should not blow one's nose loudly, nor 



MANNERS 119 

cough loudly, spit, yawn, stretch, make grimaces, 
tip one's chair, scratch the head, nor pick the 
teeth in company or in the presence of others. 
Choking and spells of coughing or sneezing that 
can not be avoided should be excused. 

Resist the temptation to handle curios, orna- 
ments, souvenirs, and bric-a-brac in the house of 
the host, unless you are invited to examine some- 
thing of the kind in your hand. 

When standing by, talking to friends or 
strangers in an automobile, avoid putting the 
hands on the fenders, doors, or other polished por- 
tions of the car. Stand away from the machine 
altogether so as to avoid finger-marking or 
scratching the enamel. 

"The hands should be especially cared for, 
the nails carefully cut and trimmed. No mat- 
ter how big or red the hands, the more masculine 
the better. Women like men to look manly, as 
if they could drive, row, play ball." 

**Do not lean your head against a wall. You 
might soil the paper." 

*'Do not show undignified haste in whatever 
you have to do. Chesterfield said, 'Whosoever is 
in a hurry, shows that the thing he is about, is 
too big for him.' " On the other hand, do not be 
provokingly slow. There is the haste that makes 
waste, and the dilatoriness that never gets one 
anywhere. 



120 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

TABLE MANNERS 

*'I could better eat with one who did not re- 
spect the truth or the laws/' says Emerson, 
quoting him for the last time, "than with a sloven 
and unpresentable person/' Eating is one of the 
most ordinary things a man does, and yet there 
is scarcely anything else he does that indicates 
more about his character and breeding than the 
manner in which he partakes of his food. But 
let us stop here and leave the summary of table 
manners for the appendix of this book given in 
Part II. 



CHAPTER X 

SPEECH 

''Thy speech bewray eth thee." — Matt. 26 :73. 

WHEN the hour came in which Peter's 
fidelity to his Master was put to a 
supreme test and he denied his Lord, 
saying, **I know not the man,'' some who stood 
by disputed him. "Thy speech bewrayeth thee," 
they said, for his accent indicated that he was a 
Galilean. Peter is not the only one who has 
been betrayed, in one way or another, by his 
language. 

A person may be telling on another whije 
at the sam.e time his language is telling on himself. 
Mr. Smith may be talking about politics, and, 
without deviating from his subject, be telling us 
simultaneously, by his language, that he is from 
Alabama, how far he has gone in books, some- 
thing of the extent of his travels, and the sort of 
people he has associated with the greater part 
of his life. Many times we do not care very 
much what somxe people talk about, but we like 
to hear them talk, because talk talks. 

The convincing forces of speech are very fre- 
quently qualities in it that denote sincerity, lack 

121 



122 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

of self-consciousness, intelligence, thoughtful- 
ness, and good training on the part of the speaker, 
rather than the arguments in it. A man may 
have plenty of good reasons to furnish and be 
logical in his presentation of them, but fail to 
gain the attention and respect of his auditor 
because his language is undignified, profane, or 
slangy, or because of his use of inexcusably bad 
English. 

St. Paul modestly professed that he did not 
come with excellency of speech, nevertheless we 
know that he was masterful in his use and choice 
of words. He enjoined Titus to show himself 
a pattern of good works^ in ''sound speech," 
among other things, "that cannot be condemned.'' 
The primary meaning of the Greek word for 
''sound" is "healthy," and one modern English 
translation of the text is, "healthy language, 
which no one can censure." 

The language of many people might be char- 
acterized as sickly, so weak that it has to go on 
crutches. The person who is so careless as to 
habitually leave unpronounced his "ings" and 
run his words together, cannot be said to 
have a healthy language. So many have 
to prop up their conversation continually and 
tiresomely with such expressions as, "You know 
what I mean," "You understand," and the like, or 
strengthen and enforce it with vulgarisms or in- 
elegant colloquial modifiers. 



SPEECH 123 

Some speak a language that is alive, ever 
changing and developing. They take time and 
patience to nourish it and build it up by acquir- 
ing new words and expressions from wholesome 
reading, and by listening to people who speak 
well. Others seem to have reached a certain 
stage in their acquisition of English and to go 
no farther. Their vocabulary is more or less 
fixed ; they discard no old words and expressions, 
and bring into use no new ones; intellectually 
they remain at a standstill. 

Another class of people retrograde. Some 
who spoke well at one time, let their language go 
to seed, so to speak, or run down at the heels. In 
this class are some who may have taught school 
at one time, who were careful then, of course, to 
speak correctly, but with a change of occupation 
or environment came a careless letting down. 
They have permitted their speech to lose its vital- 
ity and color, and have allowed ingrammaticisms 
and errors to creep in which give their language 
a much lower rank than it had formerly. 

Reading as an important means of enriching 
one's vocabulary will be considered in another 
chapter. We shall concern ourselves immedi- 
ately with the matter of correct English, — how to 
acquire and maintain the proper use of it. 

In order to learn to speak correctly or well 
one must first have an intelligent attitude toward 
the study of English. Some students imagine 



124 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

that when they "get through school" they are 
done with studying grammar. Strictly speak- 
ing, one never finishes the study of English 
grammar. Willingness to be ever, in some de- 
gree, a grammar student, is essential, however 
far one may have gone in school or college. 

The next thing of importance is practise and 
drill work. Some who know very little about 
the rules of grammar have acquired very good 
language by being constantly associated with 
cultured people who speak well. Little children 
under school age, drilled by careful parents learn 
to speak a beautiful, simple language. The little 
tot says, "May I go?" instead of, "Can I go?" not 
because she is acquainted with the rules govern- 
ing the subjunctive mood, but because she has 
iDeen drilled. 

One may read forty grammars and yet not ac- 
quire the habit of speaking correctly. Many col- 
lege graduates use very bad English. When 
they stop to think, they may be able to analyze a 
sentence and recall the rules governing each 
ivord, but it requires practise and repetition to 
make the use of correct forms and phrases a 
liabit. 

I have a Correct English Daily Drill Book, 
by Josephine Turck Baker, which I believe to be 
splendid aid for improving one's English. Five 
minutes' study given each day to these drills for 
one year would, for many people, do more good in 



SPEECH 125 

bettering their speech than two years of ordinary 
grammar study. 

The fohowing are portions of the drill on the 
use of lie and lay : 

Rule : — Use lie, lay, laying, lain, to express 
rest: use lay, laid, laying, laid to express 
cause to rest. 

Lie: — 

I shall lie down for half an hour. (Rest.) 
I lay on the sofa by the widow last nighty 
and caught cold. (Rest.) 
I told her to lie down, and she is lying down. 
(Rest.) 

I had lain on the sofa an hour before 1 real- 
ized where I was. 
Let us lie in the shade. 
I have been lying in the shade. 
The book is lying on the table. (Resting.) 



Lay: — 

Lay the book where you found it. (Pres- 
ent tense. — Cause to lie.) 
I told him to lay the book where he found it. 
(Present tense of the infinitive. — Cause to 
lie.) 

I shall lay the book where I found it. (Fu- 
ture tense. — Cause to lie.) 
He will lay the book where he found it. 



126 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Can you lay the book where he found it? 
Can you lay the carpet? (Present tense. — 
Cause to lie.) 

Language is an important part of a person's 
equipment and it needs to be looked after like 
many other things that concern him. Some 
men's speech could stand a good laundering, that 
of others needs to have the roughness pressed, 
or ironed out. 

Just as it is necessary to fight against rapid 
depreciation in property of different kinds, and 
maintain a sinking fund for upkeep and improve- 
ment, so must a person care for his language, to 
keep it from depreciating, and provide for its 
proper maintenance and growth. Much that is 
grammatically faulty in speech might be avoided 
if people would keep a grammar near at hand for 
reference. The grammar and the dictionary are 
the physicians of speech, and one who is striving 
to acquire a ''healthy language" must consult 
them often. 

One thing that some timid people have xo 
guard against in the study of English is an un- 
due amount of self-consciousness with regard to 
their language that causes them to be backward 
about speaking at all in company or in public. 
While unfortunately there are many who care 
very little how they speak, others feel that 
rather than make a mistake in public, they 



SPEECH 127 

would prefer not to say anything at all. But 
this is a wrong attitude and much like declaring 
that one will not go into the water tintil one 
learns to swim. When a person has something 
important to say he would better make some mis- 
takes saying it than to say nothing. There 
are many speakers who impress you as having 
no other purpose in making a speech than to talk 
correctly, and attention is too often drawn by the 
speaker's self-conscious efforts to how he is 
saying a thing than to what he is saying. 
This calls to mind the story a certain senator 
tells: He went down to a town in South- 
ern Illinois to make a speech during a presidential 
campaign. Arriving about noon, he went into a 
barber shop to get shaved, and the negro who 
barbered him said: 

"Y'all ought to been here this mawnin,' Sena- 
tor, and heard Colonel Robinson's speech. It was 
the grandest speech I ever listened to in my life. 
That man is suttenly the most eloquentest man I 
ever done sot under. He talked two hours an' a 
haf . I could a listened to him fo' a week. Yessir, 
it was suttenly a gorgeous ad-dres." 

"I'm glad to hear that," said the Senator. 
*'What did he talk about?" 

**What did he talk about?" answered the bar- 
ber, pausing to add after a moment's hesitation, 
"Well, he didn't jist say." 

When Escones made a speech the Athenians 



128 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

said/'Oh,how wonderful," but when Demosthenes 
had finished speaking to them, they left the the- 
ater saying, ''Let us go fight Philip!'' Some 
young man asked Henry Ward Beecher if he 
should take up the study of oratory. Mr. Beecher 
told him to study it, forget it, and speak. On an- 
other occasion a stenographer proposed to Mr. 
Beecher that he be allowed extra pay for report- 
ing Mr. Beecher's sermons in consideration of 
correcting grammatical errors. ''And how 
many errors did you find in this discourse of 
mine?" asked the great preacher. "Just two 
hundred and sixteen," said the stenographer. 
"Young man," said Mr. Beecher solemnly, "when 
the English language gets in my way it doesn't 
stand a chance." 

The fact that there may have been some gram- 
matical errors in Mr. Beecher's address does not 
indicate that he had not studied and worked hard 
outside of the pulpit to develop as good a lan- 
guage as any American speaker ever possessed. 
Much of what the stenographer reported as er- 
rors may have been merely colloquialisms. 
When a preacher goes to the pulpit his business 
should be to preach the Gospel convincingly and 
not take up the time there practising correct 
English or oratory. Demosthenes did his prac- 
tising down on the seashore, increasing his vocal 
capacity roaring against the noise of the waves 



SPEECH 129 

and overcoming an impediment in his speech by 
talking with pebbles in his mouth. 

Drill and practise work in English at 
home will make the use of correct forms 
and expressions a habit, so that in time one 
will be able to speak correctly without hav- 
ing to think about it. In the appendix of this 
book I have prepared a section of rules and drill 
sentences for many of the more common mis- 
takes heard every day, no small number of them 
by educated people. The rules should be studied 
and the sentences repeated orally and copied 
down on paper until they are well fixed in the 
mind, and become a serviceable, working part of 
one's own language. 

Y.H.Y.C— 9. 



CHAPTER XI 

PUTTING LANGUAGE INTO WRITING 

^'Have not I written to thee excellent things 
in counsels and knowledge^ — Proverbs 22:20. 

WRITING, in the estimation of many people, 
is something of a necessary evil which 
should be avoided as much as possible. 
The process of composing even a short letter is 
for them a grace-trying, nerve-racking, energy- 
exhausting experience. Many an important 
business matter has been disastrously neglected, 
many a faithful friend shamefully treated, and 
many a poor mother's heart broken in anxiety, 
merely because somebody in each instance, dread- 
ing the ordeal before him, either postponed his 
letter writing as long as he could or failed to write 
altogether. 

On the other hand there are those who im- 
press one as having an abnormal faculty for writ- 
ing numerous, lengthy, dry epistles. It is remark- 
able how some, whose spelling and penmanship 
are very poor, seem to derive a great deal of sat- 
isfaction in inflicting upon their friends or rel- 
atives the pain of having to read long letters 
130 



PUTTING LANGUAGE INTO WRITING 131 

written with a hard pencil on cheap paper. To 
make matters worse they often crowd their words 
and lines close together, write on both sides of 
the sheets, which they forget to number, and by 
the time the poor reader has figured it all out he 
is as tired and his eyes as sore as if he had de- 
ciphered several parchments of Egyptian hiero- 
glyphics rendered dim by the lapse of thirty or 
forty centuries. 

What we say orally may be enlarged upon, 
weakened, or otherwise distorted by those who 
retell it until our original meaning is lost com- 
pletely, or it may soon be forgotten altogether. 
What we put on paper may live on for genera- 
tions and even centuries. Writing involves a cer- 
tain amount of risk, for what a person writes may 
some day constitute, in one way or another, a wit- 
ness either for or against him. But the man who 
never puts himself in writing for fear of making 
blunders, or writing something he should not 
write, is much like the man in the Bible who 
buried his talent because he feared his austere 
master. He is taking a negative attitude toward 
a great privilege. Solomon said, "A word fitly 
spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver." 
Poor Richard says, **As we must account for 
every idle word so must we account for every idle 
silence." 

The world is peopled today with myriads of 
interesting personages who, though they have 



132 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

long been dead, laugh, weep, and commune with 
us in the written records they left behind. They 
live on in their songs and books as if they were 
right among us. Some have lived more in their 
writings for other times than for their own, and 
they have been more appreciated by posterity than 
by their contemporaries. When Kepler wrote his 
three great astronomical laws, he felt that if the 
people of his own day could not understand what 
he had done, the time would come when his dis- 
coveries would be duly appreciated. He said, 
"Nothing holds me. The die is cast. The book 
is written, to be read now or by posterity, I care 
not which. It may well wait a century for a 
reader, since God has waited six thousand years 
for an observer.'' 

Many simple letters have been preserved for 
us from ancient times, valuable for some little 
statement of fact, or philosophic truth, that 
have made their writers immortal in literary 
history. Most noteworthy of all are the letters 
of Paul, James, John, Peter, and the other 
apostles. When these men wrote they little 
dreamed that great printing presses would some 
day be turning out copies of their epistles by the 
millions to be read and re-read all over the world. 
Many a man has given a valuable and interesting 
literary treasure to posterity in the shape of a 
well-written diary. 

A great deal can be told about a man by the 



PUTTING LANGUAGE INTO WRITING 133 

kind of letters he writes. They are a fair measure 
of one's education, business ability, and character. 
After all, the rules of writing are relatively sim- 
ple, and the poorest writer may greatly improve 
the appearance of his letters if he bear in mind a 
few suggestions and put them into practise. 

MARGIN AND SPACE 

Good paper is comparatively so cheap that 
there is no excuse for leaving very narrow mar- 
gins and crowding the writing. The matter of 
wide margins, and of liberal space between the 
consecutive words and lines is of utmost impor- 
tance in putting discourse on paper. Note the 
crowded appearance of the work in Example I 
(page 134), the conflicting loops of the f's, g's, 
y's, b's, h's, Ts, etc. The lines should be much 
farther apart. Writing of this kind can never 
make a favorable impression upon the reader, be- 
cause of its lack of legibility, and it tasks the eyes 
almost unmercifully. Compare Example I with 
Example IV. Observe what is accomplished in 
making Example I readable by simply giving at- 
tention to spacing between the lines and words. 

PENMANSHIP 

Unless a person is an expert at making cap- 
ital letters ornate, he should strive to make them 
as simple as possible. A plain, simple capital is 
very much more legible and pleasing to the eye 
than a poorly written, elaborate one. Do not em- 



134 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Kxsifnph% 









^€UL 






,^U^ ^c4,yL^ aXt^ JZ^-7>^ 







a^St^i^j ^rf-^^i^ C)^<yLt^<^^ "if*'^ ACle^r^yC^-^^ 



PUTTING LANGUAGE INTO WRITING 135 






136 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

bellish them with unnecessary flourishes or ap- 
pendages. Such forms as those represented in 
Example II should be avoided. Prefer plain 
forms like those in Example III. 

SPELLING 

There is no royal, easy road to the learning 
of English spelling. There are a few general 
rules for spelling which may be found in any 
English Grammar, and one should study them 
and learn the exceptions. It does not pay to al- 
low oneself to become discouraged trying to learn 
to spell, however difficult it may seem. English 
words must, for the most part, be individualized 
in the student's mind and mastered singly. The 
following rule, which may not be found in every 
grammar, is an excellent one to help clear up 
uncertainty about words with ie or ei in them: 
''In case of doubt whether to use the digraph ie 
or ie in words like receive and believe, the ques- 
tion may be determined by reference to the 
word Celia. If c precedes the digraph, e 
follows the c, as in Celia. Thus: receive, con- 
ceive, perceive, deceive. If I precedes the di- 
graph, i follows the I, as in Celia. Thus : believe, 
relieve.'^ 

A splendid plan to pursue is to write down 
correctly, in a small blank book, as they arise 
from time to time, words the spelling of which 
has been doubtful. If a person makes a study of 



PUTTING LANGUAGE INTO WRITING 137 

his list, going over the words once or twice a week, 
he will find that the spelling of many that seemed 
almost impossible to learn will become fixed in the 
mind. 

Never let a doubtful word go. Keep a dic- 
tionary at hand. If you are not sure of the cor- 
rect spelling of a word in your letter, look it up 
without fail. You cannot afford to let a word go 
misspelled if you can possibly help it. 

TYPEWRITING 

Although it is not considered good form to 
write social letters with a typewriter, many peo- 
ple, young and old, would greatly increase their 
eflftciency if they would learn to operate one. The 
typewriting machine has revolutionized modern 
business. The day may come, as good standard 
typewriters become cheaper, that eighth grade 
school children and high school students, what- 
ever course they may be pursuing in their studies, 
will be required to learn to operate a standard 
machine along with learning to write with pen 
and ink. 

Most business letters are written, these days, 
in duplicate. The sender keeps a copy for his 
reference file. Making a carbon copy of a bus- 
iness letter is a very simple matter on a type- 
writer. 

The touch system of typewriting is very much 
easier to learn than the majority of people imag- 



138 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ine. It seemed at one time almost unbelievable 
that a typewriter could be operated by touch 
without one's having to look constantly at the 
keys. I believe it is about as easy to learn this 
method as to try to make any progress writing^ 
with the forefingers while running the eyes all 
over the keyboard looking for the letters. Many 
acquire the ability to write well by touch within a 
few weeks, practising fifteen or twenty minutes 
faithfully every day. Every home should have a 
good typewriter. 

In the Appendix of this book is a complete 
section on letter writing. 



See Bibliography for instruction hooks in typewriting and 
penmanship. 



CHAPTER XII 

READING 

^'Till I come, give attendance to reading." — 
1 Tim. 4:13. 

THERE never was a time when there was so 
much of both good and bad reading matter 
available as now. Newspapers, pamphlets, 
magazines, and books, are comparatively very- 
cheap. If one does not care to buy, one may have 
access to them in the free public libraries. 

It is impossible to read all of even the good 
books there are ; and, in the face of a bewildering 
stack of volumes, with relatively little time for 
reading, many are often in a quandary about 
what to read. 

But knowing what to read does not solve the 
reading problem. We must know how to read. 

THE ''HOW" OF READING 

It is not how much you eat that builds you up 
physically, but how much you assimilate. Books 
are mind food. Some people, however, seem to 
be able to read cart-loads of them and remain 
lean and cadaverous specimens intellectually, 
having little or no faculty of mental and spiritual 
assimilation. There are other people who have a 

139 



140 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

reputation for being well read, for, though they 
read sparingly, they read well. 

Much rapid, careless reading is like rapid eat- 
ing; little is thoroughly masticated, and mental 
indigestion results. 

Just as some people lose their relish for sub- 
stantial, healthful, vigor-producing foods, and 
desire only those highly seasoned with condi- 
ments, so many readers have no relish for whole- 
some, character-building books, but prefer some- 
thing trashy, seasoned with attractive, colored- 
picture illustrations, and low-grade humor and 
anecdotes. 

Wonderful things are being done to-day in the 
way of decorative printing, lithographic work, 
and illustrating. So much of current literature 
is profusely illustrated with highly colored 
designs and sketches, that little is left for 
the imagination. Magazines must have covers 
printed in lurid crimson and yellow inks or many 
people will not buy them. The average modern 
reader must have every sort of aid to mental di- 
gestion, with the result that there tends to be a 
general atrophying of his imaginative faculty, 
and an increasing debility in his power to think. 

As a person may learn to relish and enjoy plain, 
wholesome, ungarnished food, which builds up 
his tissue and adds to his physical strength, so 
may a taste be acquired for good literature, 
whether the reading be set forth by attractive 



READING 141 

printing and binding or not ; yet to the student of 
thoughtful mind, color and beauty are there for 
he knows how to interpret for himself and to use 
his imagination. 

THE author's meaning 

Reading intelligently means that we endeavor 
to understand the writer's viewpoint first. We 
must see through his eyes, get the idea as con- 
ceived in his mind and wrought out in his experi- 
ence, if we wish to know him intimately. Then 
we can study his idea from our own viewpoint 
and apply it to our own experience. 

THE DICTIONARY 

In order to read understandingly, we must 
know the meanings of words. The part of read- 
ing in education can not be estimated, but I be- 
lieve many people do themselves much harm, in 
their reading, by their careless indifference to 
the use of the dictionary. They are much like 
those Paul spoke of whom he characterized as 
"ever learning, and never able to come to the 
knowledge of the truth.'' Words, according to 
our old grammar definition, are signs of ideas, and 
we can have no understanding of what groups 
of these word ideas represent unless we know 
something of the individual signs. 

Use the dictionary. Develop a conscience 
about letting words pass you do not understand. 



142 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

As new words appear in your reading, study 
them ; note carefully their spelling. A good plan 
for increasing your vocabulary is to write them 
down in a book with their meanings and review 
them occasionally until they become mastered. 
There is no better educational training than this 
which a person may do all by himself. 

THE ATLAS 

Much that we read has to do not only with 
particular persons or ideas, but particular places. 
We must acquire the atlas, as well as the diction- 
ary habit. We can not do justice to a descriptive 
article, if we do not know whether the principal 
places told about are in the middle of Abyssinia 
or Alaska. 

THINKING 

Finally, reading should stimulate thinking on 
our part. The intelligent student reads a while 
and then stops to think for himself. 

I know an old gentleman who was graduated 
from a great university and has been given the 
degree of Doctor of Philosophy. He is very fond 
of reading, has many books about him, and 
they seem to absorb him more than anything else 
that concerns him. Yet I can not feel other than 
that for years and years he has been like a sponge, 
always taking in, but never doing any real, con- 
structive thinking so that he could give out some- 



READING 143 

thing worth while to others. Aside from the 
mere amusement, or satisfaction he gets from 
reading, it is difficult to see how his books have 
brought him either happiness ar success, or en- 
riched him spiritually or mentally so that he 
could leave the world a practical, helpful testi- 
mony. 

We often hear certain people boast about 
how many times they have read the Bible through. 
It is not how much of Jesus' words we read that 
makes Christians of us, but how much of what 
He says we heed and obey. A man may have 
read but one chapter of the gospels, and acting 
upon its principles become more wise unto salva- 
tion than another heedless man who has read 
the Bible through forty times. 

Don't be a sponge reader. 

THE READING HABIT 

Many read little or not at all, complaining that 
they have so little time. After a day of manual 
labor they say they are too tired and can not hold 
themselves to it. This excuse they imagine suf- 
ficient for their being perfect strangers to the 
greatest of all books, the Bible, and to all other 
good literature. 

It takes only from ten to twenty minutes to 
read ten pages of an ordinary book. If a person 
were to read ten pages every day for a year, he 
would have read in all 3,650 pages. This would 



144 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

mean over seven 500-page books. For the labor- 
ing man, early in the morning is a good time, if 
only for a few minutes. It may provide some- 
thing worth while to think about and develop dur- 
ing the day as he works. Since it is not so much 
the quantity, but the quality and method that 
count in reading, few people can justifiably offer 
an excuse for not having time. 

Poor eyesight is another excuse many offer 
for not reading. Some people suffer greatly with 
head pains if they attempt to focus their eyes on 
a printed page for even a few minutes. In the 
back of this book there are some exercises for the 
eyes which I have found practical in my own case. 
Many things may be done to strengthen the eye- 
sight. Usually eye trouble is due to other disor- 
ders of the system that can be rectified. 

A few years ago, while in Philadelphia, I be- 
came acquainted with 'The Pennsylvania Home 
Teaching Society and Free Circulating Library 
for the Blind." This society estimated then that 
out of ninety thousand persons blind in the United 
States only eighteen per cent under twenty-one 
years of age were eligible to entrance into 
schools for the blind. It is chiefly concerned 
with reaching and teaching the adult blind 
population, and has adopted the easily learned. 
Moon embossed type which is best suited 
to the requirements of those who have hardened 
fingers, or are debilitated by disease, accident, or 



READING 145 

old age. In many places they give free instruc- 
tions in learning the system. All portions of the 
Bible, and numerous books of biography, his- 
tory, travel, and fiction are published, circulated, 
or sold by the society. I have a sample page of 
the embossed type, and it looks as if it could be 
very easily learned by any one. The society has 
informed me that many who have partial sight, or 
who are awaiting operations, use the Moon type to 
avoid eye strain, and that it can be learned so 
readily that persons in all parts of the United 
States have been taught by correspondence from 
the Philadelphia office. 
Y.H.Y.C.~io. 



f CHAPTER XIII 

THE BOOK OF BOOKS 

*' Search the scriptures J' — John 5:39. 

THE book that should ever take the very first 
place in anybody's study or reading is the 
Bible. I have nothing to say about other 
books to any one who does not believe this. Rus- 
sel H. Conwell, writing on the subject of Home 
Reading, says, '^Toward the end of his long and 
wide-awake life, Doctor Holmes advised a young 
correspondent to confine his reading to the Bible, 
Shakespeare, and a good dictionary." 

Perhaps in Doctor Holmes's day there was 
something of an almost unwarranted enthusiasm 
expressed for Shakespeare when people may have 
"read into" his lines a good deal that is not there. 
Wonderful and monumental though his works are, 
not every critic is willing to place them next to 
the Bible. 

THE BIBLE AS THE WORD OF GOD 

About the Bible, however, there is no question. 

It needs no defense, standing unmoved upon its 

own merits. A true-hearted Christian should not 

have to be persuaded to read it. When he neg- 

146 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 147 

lects it, he soon suffers for lack of soul food. It 
is his source of inspiration, his daily bread, his 
constant delight, the man of his counsel, a light 
unto his path, a law unto him, which he loves, and 
upon which, like David, he meditates day and 
night. The Apostle Paul commended Timothy for 
having known the Scriptures from a child. 

Doctor Arthur T. Pierson, speaking of the 
Bible, says, "Like that writing on the wall that 
Belshazzar saw in his palace, it is a man's hand, 
but the handwriting is God's." 

THE BIBLE AS THE GREATEST BOOK 

A young ministerial student was once drawn 
into a lecture hall by a notice which announced 
the Bible as the topic of discussion. He was sur- 
prised to learn, however, that the lecturer's ob- 
ject was to condemn the great Book, and at the 
close of his discourse, the speaker said, 

"If there is any gentleman here who dares to 
deny that the best things in the Bible are better 
stated in other ancient books, let him stand up 
and say so." 

The young student was indignant at the 
charge brought against the Bible, and, standing 
on a seat so that he could be seen by all in the 
hall, he took from his pocket a small book and 
held it up before him. 

"Well," said the lecturer, "what has this 
young gentleman to say?" 



148 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

V "This is what I have to say," replied the 
young man, :very tall and thin, with his long arm 
Btretched out, his voice bold and clear, "this book 
which I hold in my hand is the New Testament, 
about one-fourth part of the Bible. I declare in 
the presence of the speaker and of this audience 
that in this little volume is to be found more light 
on the path of human life and a higher standard 
of moral teaching than in any ancient book in all 
the world." 

Then to the surprise of the people in the room, 

he tore the book in two and held up one of the 

pieces. *^I have thrown aside half of this book," 

he continued, "and in this half that remains, 

whidi contains the 'four gospels, there ismore 

of value concerning the character of man, and 

how to dive a right life, than any other ancient 

writers ha^e left on record, no matter where you 

mayiloofcifOTfitheani":^ t :<^ i rtr n ?h^ : 

'^t: Then again he tore^the poirtion he lield, and 

t^ith but thr^e^leavesuih his hand,uhe exclaimed, 

"These six pages contain the Sermon on the 

Mounts oim single discourse by Jesus Christ; in 

(thatr^rmon: yoir will ofind a higher standard t>f 

charactcKT, a nobler ideal for man, than any other 

single writing, ancient or modern, in the whole 

world, contains. I dare you, Sir, to read the 

opening \^ords of that discourse jfeef ore this au- 

*ence, and let those who hear judge for them- 

Ves!" 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 149 

The lecturer declined to take the challenge 
and the meeting was dismissed without any an- 
swer being given. 

INEXCUSABLE IGNORANCE OF THE BIBLE 

No one has a right to call himself educated, 
however much of other things he may think he 
knows, if he has allowed himself to be ignorant 
of the Bible. There is a general, lamenta- 
ble dearth of Bible reading and study. It is 
neglected in the home, in the church even, 
and in the schools of higher learning. A Latin 
professor in one of our large universities, who 
has traveled in Italy and is very well acquainted 
with classic Greek and Latin literature, and also 
well read in other subjects, wished one day to 
refer to the Pharisees in the Bible, of whom Jesus 
said, 'They make broad their phylacteries, and 
enlarge the borders of their garments." The 
professor, stumbling around pitiably in his mind 
a few seconds for the name "Pharisees," could 
think of nothing but ''Philistines." Had he been 
a little less familiar with Horace and Juvenal 
and more familiar with the Scriptures, he would 
not have made such a break. 

The story is told of another professor, a Har- 
vard pedagogue, who cared very little about 
the Bible. One day he missed his little son 
for a longer period than usual. Some neighbor 
lady of religious propensities had picked him up 



150 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

and taken him into her house to get acquainted 
with him. She read to him from the Bible, 
something he was unused to hearing. When 
he came home, rather tardily, his father asked 
him where he had been. He replied, that a lady 
had been reading to him from a book called the 
^^Holly Beeble." 

One who has not read the Bible through should 
do so. There is an excellent plan published in 
tract form for reading it in a year's time. * Much 
Bible reading is of a fitful nature, done in little 
snatches, good so far as it goes. There is a unity 
of structure in the Bible, a completeness, taken as 
a whole, that can not be appreciated unless it is 
studied from the standpoint of all its parts in re- 
lation to the whole. The Bible is not a mere het- 
erogeneous mass thrown together. 

For the fly-leaves of the Bibles given to 
American soldiers leaving for France, Woodrow 
Wilson wrote, 'The Bible is the Word of Life! 
I beg that you will read it and find out for your- 
selves. Read not little snatches here and there, 
but long passages that will really be the road to 
the heart of it. You will find it full of real men 
and women. The more you read it, the more it 
will become plain to you what things are worth 
while and what are not. When you have read the 
Bible you will know that it is the Word of God, 



"^See Bibliog. 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 151 

because you will have found it the key to your 
own heart, your happiness, and your own duty."^ 

There is enough to do in Bible study to keep 
one busy all one's life. The life of Jesus or the 
travels of St. Paul, studied in connection with 
Bible commentaries and a Bible atlas, present 
much of interest that one may study with profit 
indefinitely. 

BIBLE HISTORY AND MODERN TRANSLATIONS 

Every one should know something of the his- 
tory of the Bible, how different portions of it 
were written, and how it came to be handed down 
to us in one volume. 

The story of Tyndale's first printed English 
New Testament is, to my mind, one of the most 
interesting in all the history of books. Tyndale 
was a distinguished scholar at Cambridge when 
the idea of an English New Testament translated 
from the original was probably suggested to him. 
He had been very much inspired reading the Greek 
Testament of Erasmus. In his very interesting 
little book on How We Got Our Bible, Dr. J. 
Paterson Smyth says, "One day, in the sudden 
heat of controversy, he startled the company pres- 
ent by his memorable declaration, whose ful- 
filment was afterward the object of his life, 
*We had better,' said his opponent, 'be without 
God's laws than the Pope's.' And Tyndale rose 
in his indignant wrath. 'I defy the Pope,' he 



152 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

cried, 'and all his laws; and if God spare me 
I will one day make the boy that drives the 
plough in England to know more of the Scripture 
than the Pope does/ " 

William Tyndale accordingly went to work on 
his translation. He was unable to get the sanc- 
tion of the Bishop of London and the favor of 
the publishers, so he went to the Continent in 
1524. In the following year he was at Cologne 
with the sheets of his quarto New Testament in 
the printer's hands. At this stage of his work, 
along came a Roman Catholic priest by the name 
of Cochlaeus to hinder the good man in every way 
possible. This Cochlaeus had heard an idle boast 
of some printers; his suspicions were aroused 
and he diligently plied them with liquor until he 
learned the secret of Tyndale's work— viz., that 
an English New Testament was actually on the 
press and already well on its way to completion. 
A message came to Tyndale's lodging to the effect 
that his secret was in the hands of Rome. He 
rushed distractedly to the printer's house, seized 
all the sheets he could find, and escaped to Worms 
where the enthusiasm for Luther and the Refor- 
mation was then at its height. Tyndale found 
a welcome refuge in Worms, and after a time his 
Testament was printed — several editions of it. 
Another writer says, "In all, at least fifteen thou- 
sand copies were issued, which were secretly im- 
ported into England in bales of cloth, sacks of 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 153 

flour, etc. Every effort was, however, made by 
the Roman Catholics to prevent this Testament 
from getting into the hands of the people; and 
with this object in view, all that were found were 
seized and destroyed — thousands being burned 
at St. PauPs Cross." 

The Bishop had determined to stop the cir- 
culation of the Testaments, if possible, so he hired 
a merchant by the name of Packington to buy up 
all the Testaments Tyndale had not distributed. 
But he did not know that this merchant was 
a good friend of Tyndale's. At any rate, the bar- 
gain was made with the result that "the bishop 
had the books, Packington had the thanks, and 
Tyndale the money." Tyndale said, "I am the 
gladder for these two benefits shall come therof- 
I shall get money to bring myself out of debt, and 
the whole world will cry out against the burning 
of God's word, and the overplus of the money that 
shall remain with me shall make me more studi- 
ous to correct the said New Testament, and so 
newly to imprint the same once again, and I trust 
the second will be much better than ever was the 
first." 

The Bishop evidently did not know much 
about the mysteries of the printer's art, and the 
books continued to come thick and fast into Eng- 
land, whereupon he sent for Packington to in- 
quire of the matter. "My lord," replied the 



154 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

merchant, *'it were best for your lordship to buy 
up the stamps, too, by which they are imprinted." 

A sequel to the story is given by the old 
chronicler who tells of one named Constantine 
who was tried before Sir Thomas Moore on the 
charge of heresy. ''Now Constantine," said the 
judge, "I would have thee to be plain with me in 
one thing that I shall ask, and I promise thee I 
will show thee favor in all other things whereof 
thou art accused. There are beyond the sea 
Tyndale, Joye, and a great many of you ; I know 
they cannot live without help. There must be 
some that help and succor them with money, and 
thou, being one of them, hadst thy part thereof, 
and therefore knowest from whence it came. I 
pray thee, tell me -who they be that help them 
thus." 

"My Lord," said Constantine, "I will tell thee 
truly — it is the Bishop of London that hath helpen 
us, for he hath bestowed among us a great deal 
of money upon New Testaments to burn them, 
and that hath been our chief succor and com- 
fort." 

*'Now by my troth," said Sir Thomas Moore, 
"I think even the same, for I told the bishop thus 
much before he went about it." 

Says another writer on the history of the Bi- 
ble, "October 6th, 1536, Tyndale, who had done 
this great work for England, was first strangled 
and then burnt at the stake by those who have 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 155 

ever been the unchanging enemies of an open 
Bible — viz., the Roman Catholic authorities/' 

The King James Authorized Version, pub- 
lished in 1611, was based principally on the Old 
Latin Vulgate, revised by St. Jerome in the fourth 
Century, and on earlier English versions known as 
the WyclifFe, Coverdale, Great Bible, Geneva Bible, 
and Tyndale's New Testament. All Bible students 
should know, however, that the three famous 
Greek manuscripts, the oldest copies of the Bible 
in the world, were not accessible to those who pre- 
pared the Authorized English Version. They 
are known respectively as the Vatican, the Alex- 
andrian, and the Sinaitic Manuscripts. 

The Vatican Manuscript has been kept at least 
four or five hundred years in the Vatican at Rome, 
and Papal authorities have guarded it so jealously 
that most scholars capable of examining it have 
been refused access to it. Pope Pius IX, however, 
ordered excellent fac-similes made which may be 
seen in our chief public libraries. 

The Alexandrian Manuscript was presented to 
Charles I of England by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of 
Constantinople, m 1628, seventeen years after the 
Authorized Version appeared. 

The Sinaitic Manuscript was discovered by 
Doctor Tischendorf in St. Catherine's Convent, at 
the foot of Mt. Sinai, in 1844. While visiting the 
library of the convent in the month of May of the 
above year, he perceived in the middle of the great 



156 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

hall a basketful of old parchments. The li- 
brarian told him that two heaps of similar old 
documents had already been used for the fires. 
What was his surprise to find in the basket a num- 
ber of sheets of a copy of the Septuagint (Greek) 
Old Testament, the most ancient-looking manu- 
script he had ever seen. The authorities of the 
convent allowed him to take away about forty 
sheets, as they were intended only for the fire; but 
he displayed so much satisfaction with his gift 
that the monks were aroused as to the value of 
the manuscript, and they refused to give him any 
more. He returned to Germany and, with his 
precious sheets, made a great sensation in the lit- 
erary world. He took very good care not to tell 
where he got them. Fifteen years later he enlisted 
the sympathy of the Emperor of Russia and in 
1859 went again to the convent with a com- 
mission from the Emperor. At first he was un- 
able to locate the other sheets and was about to 
leave in great disappointment when they acciden- 
tally came to light again through a monk who had 
them in his cell. This time, though full of joy, 
he had the self-command to conceal his feelings 
and asked for permission to look them over in 
his room. "And there by myself," he says, "I 
gave way to my transports of joy. I knew that 
I held in my hands one of the most precious Bibli- 
cal treasures in existence, a document whose age 
and importance exceeded that of any I had ever 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 157 

seen after twenty years' study of the subject." 

Dr. Tischendorf believed that this and the 
Vatican Manuscript were two of the fifty copies 
of the Bible which were made in Greek by the 
command of Emperor Constantine, about the year 
A. D., 331, under the supervision of Bishop Euse- 
bius the historian of Caesarea. The Sinaitic Man- 
uscript is kept in Petrograd, but fac-similes may 
be seen in the large libraries. 

Up until Tyndale's time, Bibles had to be pro- 
duced by hand, with the result that, careful and 
painstaking as the copyists were, numerous tex- 
tual errors crept into them, The late William B* 
Godbey, a Greek scholar and reputed writer, says, 
"Out of the two thousand errors in the English 
Version (the autharized) the Revised Version of 
1881 corrects nine hundred and four. They (the 
translators) would ha v^ corrected all but for the 
ecclesiastical shackles encuinbering them, as. the 
English had a majority — fifty against thirty 
Americans." >*t^^^^v < .. 

: The King James Version h^ become greatly 
endeared to English speaking people ^11 over the 
wo^rldr and it may long remain the version of gen- 
eral use. I have gone into so much of Bible 
history^ however, with a view of giving Bible 
students, who exipect to stu<iy the Scriptures in- 
tensively, a broader conception of the Bible text. 
^ There are many people to wiiom the Bible is 
t, sort of fetish, which they worship as the Israel- 



158 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ites did the brazen serpent destroyed by King 
Hezekiah. To many people the Bible means some 
particular, worn, marked, torn volume, sacred to 
them more because of its associations or family 
history than for what it contains. Many 
a person might see the Scriptures in a truer 
light and a better meaning were he willing to lay 
aside his old Nehushtan-thumb-marked Bible and 
get a new one. It is the spirit of the Bible we 
must seek to become acquainted with. St. Paul 
wrote to the Corinthians saying, "Our sufficiency 
is of God ; Who also hath made us able ministers of 
the new testament; not of the letter, but of the 
spirit : for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth 
life.'' 

Many who are ignorant of Bible history have 
an idea that any other version of the Scriptures 
than the King James Authorized Version, with 
which they have been familiar for the greater 
part of their lives, would not be Bible to them. 
The English language has changed greatly since 
1611. The meanings of many words in the Bible 
have changed, and in order to get a better under- 
standing of texts that do not seem clear, it is a 
good habit to refer to modern language versions, 
or revised versions, based upon these three great 
manuscripts. Such a comparative study of dif- 
ferent versions should by no means lessen a per- 
son's respect for his old Bible, but rather increase 
his interest in it. Among other versions are the 



THE BOOK OF BOOKS 159 

English Revised Version, the American Revised 
Version, Weymouth's Translation of the New Tes- 
tament out of the original Greek, W. B. Godbey's 
New Testament, and the Twentieth Century New 
Testament published by Fleming H. Revell Com- 
pany. 



CHAPTER XIV 

OTHER BOOKS 

"0/ making many books there is no end.'' — 
Eccl. 12:12. 

PILGRIM'S PROGRESS 

JOHN Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress has un- 
doubtedly been printed in more languages 
than any other book outside of the Bible. 
When Bunyan had his immortal dream, he was im- 
prisoned in a dungeon, shut in from the "madding 
crowd." There he wrote the first and greatest 
part of this most remarkable of allegories, — "a 
record of his experiences; a record of the soul's 
struggles, battle-agonies, and victories, in its 
stages from conversion to glory." 

I learned to love this wonderful story when but 
a small lad. My mother used to read por- 
tions of it to me. What thrills my boyish 
heart experienced later, when I could read 
for myself how Christian, clad in the new 
armor those kind and hospitable women 
had given him at the House Beautiful, triumphed 
over the fierce ApoUyon, and how the good 
and doughty Great Heart with his trusty 
i6o 



OTHER BOOKS 161 

sword cut off the head of old Giant Despair who 
had meted out such misery to Christian and Hope- 
ful, and death to so many other helpless victims ! 
How I used to sympathize with poor Christian 
carrying that burdensome pack on his back, which 
nearly weighed him down out of sight in the 
Slough of Despond ; but how I rejoiced with him 
when the hateful burden rolled away at the cross 
and he could straighten up his bowed back and 
stand erect and free! What a source of joy and 
inspiration this book has been to Christian pil- 
grims all over the world for generations past! 
Though familiarity does not take from its charm, 
I envy him who has it to read for the first time. 

Dr. Halleck, in his New English Literature, 
says that Pilgrim's Progress has been more widely 
read in England than any other book except the 
Bible, and that it still has absorbing interest for 
human beings, for the child, the old man, 
the learned, and the ignorant. "Bunyan wrote 
many other works, but none of them equals the 
Pilgrim's Progress. His Holy War is a powerful 
allegory, which has been called a prose Paradise 
Lost. Bunyan also produced a strong piece of 
realistic fiction, the Life and Death of Mr. Bad- 
man. This shows the descent of a soul along the 
broad road. The story is the counterpart of his 
great masterpiece, and ranks second to it in point 
of merit.'' 
Y.H.Y.C— II. 



162 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

l-'% HISTORY 

One may obtain a liberal education from the 
study of history alone. No one can properly es- 
timate the present age and current events who 
Jias not made a study of the past. If some find the 
history page dull and uninteresting, it is either be- 
cause they do not appreciate the value of historical 
records or because they allow, through lack of 
mental concentration, events, dates, and charac- 
ters to become jumbled and confused in their 
minds. One is to be pitied who has an occasion 
to start on a voyage to Europe without ever hav- 
ing studied something of the history of the coun- 
tries he is about to visit. 

A knowledge of Modern European History is 
essential to an intelligent insight into the great 
war just passed, which happened, not by mere 
chance, but in consequence of national develop- 
ments extending over many decades and even 
centuries of time. Though, from a national stand- 
point, our own United States is comparatively a 
young country, the story of her struggles and de- 
velopment is a most wonderful one, and we often 
pass too heedlessly by places that have become 
sacred in her annals, commemorated for us by the 
pens of our historians. 

A course of history reading is very well rep- 
resented in the following books : 



OTHER BOOKS 163 

American History by Muzzey, or History of 

the United States by Beard. 
Ancient History, Myers. 
Medieval and Modern History, Myers. 
A Short History of England by Larson, or 

by Cheyney. 
Modern Europe, Hazen. 

The Christian student should not neglect the 
study of the history of Christianity. A very 
good book on this subject is John F. Hurst's 
Short History of the Christian Church. 

BIOGRAPHY 

If a person may receive a liberal education 
from the study of history alone, he may receive as 
liberal a one, perhaps, from the study of the lives 
of great men, for it has been said that the history 
of a nation is the history of its greatest men. 

FICTION 

There are certain works of fiction that have 
become classical for the biographical, historical, 
and descriptive elements they contain, or for the- 
lessons they have to teach. 

It is said that when Alexander the Great was 
plundering the palace of Darius, one of his soldiers 
found the crown jewels of Persia in a leather bag. 
His find represented millions, but the stupid fellow 
opened the bag and had no better sense than to 



164 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

shake out the little glittering stones amidst the 
debris before going away to boast about the fine 
little sack he had discovered in which to carry his 
food. 

Many people with a depraved and vitiated liter- 
ary taste read fiction only for the story or roman- 
tic element in it. All they care for is the bag ; the 
valuables they cast aside. A good work of fiction 
may represent years of research, careful and ex- 
haustive study into the life and customs of some 
historical period, yet many care only for the con- 
tainer in the shape of the plot or love story that 
binds these jewels of information together. 

A good plan for reading certain well recognized 
works of fiction is to read them in connection with 
the history of the times they represent. One who 
has gone as far as King John in English History 
may read with pleasure and profit Scott's Ivanhoe 
for its interesting description of rural English 
life and customs in the days of King Richard the 
Lion-Hearted. 

To my mind one of the greatest of stories is 
Lew Wallace's Ben Hur. It is told of General 
Lew Wallace that just after the Civil War he was 
inclined to be skeptical in matters of religion, 
particularly concerning the divinity of Jesus. 
While traveling on a railroad one day, he happened 
to meet Colonel Robert G. Ingersoll, the infidel. In 
the course of their conversation, Ingersoll pre- 
sented his views on religion. Wallace listened, but 



OTHEE BOOKS 165 

remarked that he could not agree with certain ex- 
treme propositions that IngersoU had made with 
regard to the non-divinity of Jesus Christ. 
IngersoU urged that Wallace give the subject care- 
ful study and research, expressing his confidence 
that Wallace would finally see as he did. After 
leaving IngersoU, Wallace resolved to give the 
matter thorough investigation. He studied, 
thought, and searched for six years, with Ben Hur 
rather than unbelief as the result. Wallace met 
IngersoU subsequently and Ben Hur was naturally 
the subject of their conversation. After having 
told IngersoU of his experience, he said, 'The re- 
sult of my long study was the absolute conviction 
that Jesus of Nazareth was not only a Christ, and 
the Christ, but He was also my Christ, my Savior, 
and my Redeemer. That fact once settled in my 
own mind, I wrote Ben Hur.'' 

Three other enlightening stories based on Bi- 
ble history are Ingraham's The Prince of the 
House of David, which has to do with the times of 
Jesus ; The Throne of David, which has to do with 
King David's reign ; and The Pillar of Fire, won- 
derfully descriptive of Egyptian life, customs, and 
religion about the time of the great exodus of the 
Children of Israel. In The Pillar of Fire Ingra- 
ham shows how the great plagues were directed 
against particular Egyptian deities. This au- 
thor employs a pleasing style and diction — an in- 
teresting study in themselves. 



166 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

The influence of Harriet Beecher Stowe's Un- 
cle Tom's Cabin in the outcome of our great Civil 
War, cannot be estimated. The book has an im- 
portant place in the social and political history of 
America. 

The student at work on his Latin Julius Caesar 
or studying the History of Ancient Rome will 
profit by the information to be found in A Friend 
of Caesar, by Davis, and in Bulwer Lytton's Last 
Days of Pompeii, along with a non-fiction, but 
very interesting, well illustrated, and valuable 
book by Johnston on The Private Life of The 
Romans. 

An interesting work on the History of the 
Early Church, showing the decline of paganism is 
Charles Kingsley's Hypatia. 

The reader may find in the following list a few 
suggestions for profitable reading or study : 

Paradise Lost, Milton. 

Essays, by Bacon, Addison, Emerson, and 

Macaulay. 
Sketch Book, Irving. 
Ninety-three, Hugo. 
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Stevenson. 
Julius Caesar, and Hamlet, Shakespeare. 
The Other Wise Man, Vandyke. 
The Tale of Our Syrian Guest, Wm. Allen 
Knight, 



OTHER BOOKS 167 

The Call of the Wild, Jack London. 
Titus, A Tale of the Cross, Kingsley. 
The Last Days of Pompeii, Lytton. 
Imitation of Christ, Thomas a Kempis. 
Foxe's Book of Martyrs. 
Tale of Two Cities, Dickens. 
New English Literature, Halleck, 
Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin. 



CHAPTER XV 

MUSIC 

''Provide me now a man that can play well/' — 
1 Sam. 16:17, 

IF the voice of the singing waters and the 
cheerful songs of the birds were hushed, 
what a dull world this would be ! The origin 
of music is divine, it is the gift of God. When He 
laid the corner-stone of the earth, the morning 
stars sang together; and surely He loves music, 
for He has filled the whole world of nature with 
melody and harmonious sounds. Then, when He 
made man after His own image, He placed within 
him a love for music, too, and gave him a voice 
to sing. 

Man's love for music is one of the most noble 
of his passions. Music is a means by which, when 
divinely inspired, the soul may be greatly edified, 
enlightened, and uplifted. We should be care- 
ful in gratifying this passion for music, that we 
do it with such themes as will inspire pure and 
wholesome thoughts, or prompt adoration and 
praise to God. 

Many permit business and the cares of this 

l68 ;: j 



MUSIC 169 

life to crowd so in upon them that they have no 
time to give to poetry, music, or sacred song. 
Often they awaken late in life to find their love 
for these things almost gone, and, having de- 
prived themselves of their softening, mellowing, 
and ennobling influences, find their feelings hard 
and indifferent and their souls cold and lifeless. 
They have missed some of the greatest blessings 
God and Nature had in store for them. 

Charles Darwin, told how in youth he 
was exceedingly fond of poetry and music. 
But later, his devotion to the study of 
natural history and to scientific speculation 
was such as to cause him to lose this fondness. 
''Robbed of their food," says Hillis, writing of 
him, *'the esthetic faculties had decayed and 
finally died. .Eventually in an hour of ill- 
health, when music and song might have cheered 
and brought relaxation, he said pathetically, *If 
I had to live my life again, I would have made a 
rule to read some poetry and listen to some music 
at least once every |week ; for perhaps the parts 
of my brain now atrophied would thus have been 
kept active through use. The loss of these tastes 
is a loss of happiness, and may possibly be in- 
jurious to the intellectual and more probably to 
the moral character, by enfeebling the emotional 
part of our nature.' " 

Those who feel indifferent toward music, es- 
pecially that of a sacred character, should strive 



170 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

earnestly to develop a love for it. One stanza or 
even a few notes of some old hymn will often 
bring blessing and consolation to a depressed 
soul such as nothing else can. It is said that 
at a critical mom.ent during the Battle of Water- 
loo Wellington discovered that the Forty- 
second Highlanders were beginning to waver. 
Such an unusual occurrence was due, he found 
on inquiry, to the fact that the band had ceased 
to play. Wellington instantly ordered that the 
pipes be played. The result was magical;' the 
Highlanders rallied and went forth to win the 
hard-contested battle. When Napoleon's army 
came to a pass in the Alps where it looked as if 
it would be utterly impossible to surmount the 
rocks with the ammunition wagons, he went to 
the band leader and asked^ for his portfolio. He 
turned over the sheets until he came to an inspir- 
ing march. "Play that," he said. The order was 
obeyed, and over went the ammunition wagons. 
The story is told of how one man, who played an 
old violin, kept a party of ice-bound men in the 
arctic regions from despair and probably mutiny 
with his music. 

Just as the song struck up by a weary and 
discouraged army of soldiers has renewed their 
spirits until they have boldly faced and routed 
the enemy, so will a hymn of praise or thankwS- 
giving revive the hard-pressed Christian's spirits 



MUSIC 171 

and enable him to rout despair and discourage- 
ment in a trying soul-conflict. 

Learning the principles of music and to play 
something or to sing, should be a part of every 
person's education and training. Such knowledge 
or training is of inestimable value to those who 
hope to make themselves efficient as workers in 
the Lord's vineyard. In nine cases out of ten, 
there is little excuse for one's not learning to 
play some sort of instrument. Many complain 
that they have absolutely no faculty for the ap- 
preciation of music or for learning to play any- 
thing. There is something, of course, in the idea 
that one person may be endowed more than an- 
other with a gift for musical appreciation and 
ability to play, but I am certain that many lay too 
great stress upon this. Most people who do not, 
could play if they were disposed to practise dil- 
igently and earnestly. So far as real appreciation 
for music is concerned, it is not so much a mys- 
terious gift as many are wont to suppose, but like 
appreciation for anything else that is good in the • 
world, the faculty has to be cultivated. 

Plain, e very-day study is required to master 
the principles of music, and education enters into 
the training of the so-called musical ear. An 
intelligent appreciation for good music is one of 
the marks of refinement and culture, and every 
one should try, in some measure at least, to ac- 
quire it. 



172 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

The trouble with many people's musical fac- 
ulty is that it is lazy. They have allowed 
it to lose its conscience, if it can be said to have 
any, in that it feels no compunctions for repeat- 
edly committing musical errors and sins. When 
an amateur player, to whom this applies, sits 
down to chord or play something from memory, 
everything goes along well until he comes to what 
should be a change in the melody, — i. e., a group 
of notes in a different key than that in which the 
piece is written, put there by the composer of the 
music to enrich the composition, and which the 
trained ear of some one else who is familiar with 
the piece is eagerly waiting to hear. But on 
arriving at this point, the player finds that he is 
unable to discover readily the accidental notes — 
sharps, flats, or naturals, as the case may be — 
that compose the called-for change, and because 
he is unwilling, even when possible, to study and 
work until he finds them, or to look up the music 
if he can not discover them, he palms off on his 
injured sense of hearing a flat-sounding substi- 
tute in the home key, thus missing, perhaps, one 
of the prettiest parts of the piece. It never oc- 
curs to some students that though a piece may be 
written in a certain key, the melody may stray 
away into others at different places. They have 
a wrong idea about accidentals and try, apparent- 
ly, to avoid them as much as possible. The student 
should study these changes and try to discover in 



MUSIC 173 

familiar hymns how many different keys and 
what they are into which a melody may have 
progressed. 

The only kind of music that appeals to many 
people is that characterized by a good deal of 
noise or by rag-time swing, such as can be used 
as a vehicle for cheap rhymes of shallow senti- 
ment. Classical music of the great masters is 
often dry and uninteresting to the uncultivated 
musical sense, while to those who have learned its 
value and meaning, it is like food and drink to a 
hungry man. 

When a youngster of eight years, mother be- 
gan giving me piano lessons. She experienced 
something of a heart-breaking task in compelling 
me to practise. I should be almost ashamed now 
to face the old clock that used to tell me when my 
half-hour was up. Half of the time I practised 
and half of the time I must have spent looking at 
the clock. The call of the baseball and the bat 
and of a thousand kindred things that distract a 
growing boy's mind, made practising uphill 
business for me. Nevertheless, I made progress 
in the course of time and, though I am not a 
professional player by any means, what I did 
learn, despite its annoyance to others, has been 
a source of inestimable satisfaction to me. 
Several years ago I was called upon to help edit 
and harmonize music for two song books, which 



174 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

were, in time, successfully published and of which 
over ninety thousand copies have been sold. 

Many may be born with a faculty of music in 
them, many more may acquire it, and a few have 
it thrust upon them. So much of what little I 
have learned was thrust upon me by birch-rod 
methods that I am inclined not to listen very 
sympathetically to the excuse some make for not 
learning to play something. 

Get some kind of instrument and start prac- 
tising. Learn to play hymns, if nothing more. 
Practise faithfully, persistently, and regularly if 
only a few minutes or a half -hour each day. If it 
is only a jew's-harp or a mouth organ, learn to 
play something. 



CHAPTER XVI 

BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 

''They murmured against the goodman of the 
hou^e, . . . But he answered one of them, and 
said, Friend, I do thee no wrong: didst not thou 
agree with me for a penny ? Take that thine is, 
and go thy way'' — Matt. 20:11-14. 

ONE of the chief reasons many men do 
not advance in the business world to posi- 
tions of honor and trust is that they are 
unwilHng to bear responsibility. I have often ob- 
served that the person who shuns the burden of 
responsibility is usually most critical of the man 
who has been brave enough to assume it. The 
shirker is the one most jealous of the burden - 
bearer's reward. 

If you ask some people to do anything, it is 
necessary to guide them through the task every 
step of the way. They are so afraid of being 
held accountable if anything should go wrong 
that they ask questions about every detail until 
you wish you had done yourself what you asked 
them to do. But there are others who 
never need a second word. In an editorial of a 
business magazine appeared the following ac- 

175 



176 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

count of an office boy who '*sees it through," 

**Next to having an office boy like this, per- 
haps, is hearing about him. His station was just 
outside the president's door, somewhere in lower 
New York. He hadn't been on the job long, but 
he understood his duties. The president from 
time to time would tell him things to do. He was 
to do them. That was all there was to it, as far 
as he could see. One day the president called 
him in and said : 'There's a baby-buggy down- 
stairs in the lobby. I wish ypu would take it to 
my house.' Was he an ordinary new office boy? 
Did he ask any questions? He was not. He did 
not. He left the room, got the address from a 
telephone book, then wheeled the baby-buggy (a 
big one) out into the street and down into a sub- 
way station. There he learned the subway 
wouldn't carry it. He dragged it back into the 
street and up into an elevated station. The 
L-road wouldn't carry it either. He tried to get 
on a surface car, with the same luck. He con- 
sidered walking; but it was seven miles, and the 
baby might be waiting. Also, the president 
might be needing him. He called a taxicab, and 
piled the baby-buggy aboard. At the house, he 
lacked money enough to pay the taxi fare, and 
so he made a round trip of it for himself. He 
expected to be fired when he told the president 
about the eight dollar fare waiting outside. In- 
stead, his salary was raised." 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 177 

''Responsibility gravitates to him who can 
shoulder it/' said Stevenson. To the man who 
can and will shoulder it, belong certain privi- 
leges, advantages, promotions, and honors, that 
the man who shrinks from it has no right to 
claim. 

Writing on Why Some People Stand Still 
Sophie Irene Loeb describes an old man bemoan- 
ing his ill fortune which he compares with what 
he calls the luck of his friend John. He and 
John had gone to school together, grown up in 
the same town, and neither of them had anything 
to start with. But now the old man complains 
that while John's luck has made him president 
of the company, he himself is merely one of the 
workmen. Everything John touched turned to 
gold ; he seemed always to enjoy the favor of the 
men over him, and he passed from one position 
to another, traveling upward all the time. "It 
seems to me,'' ended the old man disappointedly, 
"I've just worked and worked, and he has shot 
right by me to the president's chair. I can't un- 
derstand it." 

"Of course he can't understand it," says 
Sophie Loeb, "and there are many more like him 
that can't understand it. I have known this man 
for a long time. His progress has been slow. He 
has practically stood still, while others seemingly 
less competent have passed him by in the race for 
success. But when you go through his record, 
Y.H.Y.C— 12. 



178 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

you will find the reason. It is there as plain as 
day. This man always did so much — for so much. 
He worked for his wages — and got them ; and no 
more. He never for a moment put himself in 
the employer's place. Promptly at quitting time, 
he quit, and called it a day. He had no respon- 
sibility. He let the other fellow assume that and 
he did just what he was told.'' 

This is just the sort of man who, when asked 
to do something out of his particular line, ob- 
jects, and says, '*I was not hired to do that. That 
is not my work ; let John do it." 

In the business world, the man who is willing 
to take chances on assuming that he is getting 
more than he deserves, however much oppressed 
he may be, and, without murmuring, applies him- 
self to his task as if the factory or business were 
his own, is certain to come out ahead in the long 
run. If, in the course of time, his employer con- 
tinues^ to take undue advantage of him, his value 
will become known, and soon some more worthy 
employer will be bidding for him, for there are 
numerous places awaiting such a man. 

Jesus often referred by parable to merchant- 
men and economic situations of one kind or an- 
other to illustrate gospel truths. If He were 
preaching on earth to-day He would, no doubt, 
take many of His illustrations from great modern 
business enterprises in describing the kingdom 
of heaven or the operations of His Church. 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 179 

The Christian workman who is seeking to 
show himself approved unto God, and who, like 
Jabez in the Bible, is praying for an enlargement 
of his borders,— i. e., an increase of his influence 
and usefulness for God, has something to learn 
from this lesson on bearing responsibility. Just 
as there are those who wonder why they do not 
get along faster in business, there are some in 
the Church who wonder why their progress is so 
slow, why their triumphs of faith are so few, and 
why their success in winning souls never grows. 
But if you look through their records, you may 
discover the trouble. 

Many older Christians can not understand 
why it is that some who have not been converted 
long and have become engaged in service for the 
Lord, seem to have shot right by them to various 
stewardships in the Church. But Jesus pointed 
to this when He said, "Many that are first shall 
be last; and the last shall be first.'' — Matt. 19:30. 

Paul wrote to the Hebrews, "Obey them that 
have the rule over you, and submit yourselves." 
There are some who recognize the need of disci- 
pline and organization in a church, and indeed 
they obey, but they do only what they are told 
and no more. They never place themselves in the 
bishop's or the elder's place; they shun spiritual 
and financial responsibility; they never take the 
initiative, and, when anything goes wrong, they 
are ready at the drop of the hat to blame the 



180 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

one who is over them. Then they go on wonder- 
ing why they make no progress, why So-and-so 
has been sent to a better place. 

HIRELING SERVICE 

The old man in the foregoing story is a mere 
hireling. He is one of those who constitute the 
great class of wage-earners who are ever crying 
for more money and fewer hours of work. Many 
preachers in their service to God are likewise 
nothing but hirelings. They work for just so 
much honor and so much pay, but share little or 
none of their Great Master's burden for the sal- 
vation and uplift of fallen humanity. 

The Bible has much to say about hireling 
service. Job speaks of the servant who *'ear- 
nestly desireth the shadow," and the hireling who 
*'looketh for the reward of his work.'' Jesus told 
how when the wolf comes, the hireling shepherd 
runs away * 'because he is an hireling, and careth 
not for the sheep." 

On the other hand, God has said that He 
would be a "swift witness" against those that 
oppress the hireling in his wages (Mai. 3:5). 
So, evidently. He has not taken sides in the great 
strife between capital and labor. There is too 
much about it, in so many instances, that is mer- 
cenary and selfish, both on the part of the hire- 
ling workman and the oppressing capitalist em- 
ployer. 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 181 

SOCIALISM 

Out of this great conflict between the forces of 
labor and capital, there has developed, on the part 
of many of the more mercenary hirelings, an undue 
attitude of intolerance toward industrial leaders. 
There is the radical Socialist who fails to appre- 
ciate the value of leadership in business and the 
incentive behind it. He does not know how hard 
the leader must think, how heavy are his respon- 
sibilities, and he is jealous of every just privilege 
such a man enjoys, — of every reward long years 
of faithful work and hard struggling have brought 
to him. So the ultraradical Socialist helps form a 
party to fight and destroy the very institution 
which may be providing him a living, and he is 
the more thankless since he himself has had to 
take none of the initiative or bear the responsi- 
bility necessary to organize and maintain it- 
There are some people who imagine that in a 
Bible school, a church, or a democracy, everybody 
should be kept on the same level. There is the 
Bolsheviki everywhere who spends much of 
his time complaining that some one has better 
fare, better quarters to live in, more privileges, 
or better pay than he. The men who worked 
all day for a penny, as they had bargained, mur- 
mured because it pleased the goodman of the 
house to give the men a penny also who worked 
but a part of the day. Some people spen^J a great 



182 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

deal of their time criticising, and complaining 
against the goodmen. 

Some radicals would have the President of 
the United States live in a small, five-room flat, 
carry in his own coal, walk to work, and curtail 
his privileges and exemptions until his capacity 
for serving the country, especially in a time of 
great national crisis, would be utterly destroyed. 
There is that abuse of a democratic principle 
which causes one type of mind to conceive, "The 
President or the Bishop is no better than I am and 
deserves no better treatment or honor,'' and thus 
all appreciation of the dignity of the high office of 
such an official and the respect and consideration 
due him who can fill it are lost sight of. 

Showing a dignitary due honor and re- 
spect need not be understood to sanction extrava- 
gance or luxurious living on the part of that 
official nor administer to his pride. The age is fast 
outgrowing the political and ecclesiastical auto- 
crat who has been guilty of such things. 

The Bible does not sanction class or caste, 
but it teaches that due consideration and respect 
are to be paid to office. Paul says, "Render 
therefore to all their dues : . . • . honor to whom 
honor" (Rom. 13:7). Writing to Timothy, he 
says, "Let the elders that rule well be counted 
worthy of double honor, especially they who la- 
bor in the word and doctrine." The Bible rec- 
ognizes the place of the ruler, or overseer in the 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 183 

Church, but such a person is not to be unjust, 
harsh, or autocratic in the exercise of his author- 
ity. Writing in his epistle to the elders, Peter 
exhorts them to "feed the flock of God, .... 
taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, 
but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready 
mind ; Neither as being lords over God's heritage, 
but being ensamples to the flock.'' One of God's 
true overseers will not require any one under him 
to do something he has not done himself, or would 
not do if he could, or if other duties of greater 
importance did not prevent him. He is not above 
hard work done with two hands, and he may often 
perform some simple, lowly tasks for example's 
sake. Jesus said to His disciples, ''Whosoever 
will be chief among you, let him be your servant." 
He set the example by washing His disciples' 
feet, and though He may have been willing to 
continue to do that sort of work. His service to 
humanity was of too great importance to permit 
Him to continue it. 

The President of the United States calls him- 
self a "servant" of the people. The dominant 
characteristic of the highest type of rulership 
is service. 

OFFICE SEEKING 

Some people have a burning ambition to rise 
in the world to lofty pinnacles of fame. Shakes- 
peare put in the mouth of Cardinal Woolsey the 



184 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

following words of wholesome advice to Crom- 
well: 

''Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambition: 
By that sin fell the angels ; how can man, then. 
The image of his Maker, hope to win by it? 
Well love thyself last; cherish those hearts that 

hate thee; ... Cromwell, Cromwell — 

Had I but serv'd my God with half the zeal 
I serv'd my king, he would not in mine age 
Have left me naked to mine enemies." 

Many a promising career has ended in disap- 
pointment and cynicism because in each instance 
wrong ambition was allowed to rob the soul of its 
ideals of service. Political wire-pulling and self- 
ish seeking for higher place and honors have 
made shorn Samsons of multitudes of modern 
preachers. God has long since left them. The 
desire to supersede another or take his place is 
distinctly unholy, worldly, and carnal. There are 
too many unfilled offices of responsibility, too 
much work in the world to be done for any one to 
be guilty of being envious or jealous of another 
person's place. 

There is, however, a legitimate desire every 
one may have for advancement to office of 
responsibility and influence. It is obligatory 
upon every Christian to increase his usefulness 
and influence among his fellow men for good. 
The desire for ordination which will better enable 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 185 

the Christian missionary or laborer to reach more 
people and do his work more effectually, is natural 
for one who has been sanctified and anointed for 
service. Paul said to Timothy, *'If a man desire 
the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." 
In other words, a desire to become an overseer, 
or leader of men for their spiritual and moral 
good, is a most worthy and wholesome desire. 
But the greater one's aspirations for overseer- 
ship, th-e more severe are the preliminary and 
preparatory ordeals, tribulations, and initiatory 
experiences that he must pass through, for the 
quickest way up to places of trust is down 
through the valley of testing. 

QUALIFICATIONS OF AN OVERSEER 

To be a steward of men entails a far greater 
responsibility than that of being one over mere 
chattels or property. Hence the qualifications of 
a bishop, or overseer are necessarily exacting. 
He must be able to rule his own house well, must 
be temperate in all things ; in short, said St. Paul 
to Titus, he must be "blameless." 

Progress and advancement in church, state, 
or modern business enterprise is proportionate 
to one's ability to influence and handle men. The 
successful oversight of men involves a great deal 
of self-sacrifice. The overseer must often suf- 
fer great inconveniences and annoyances with the 
utmost patience and forbearance in order to hold 



186 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

the confidence and respect of those under him. 
He must be capable of showing great kindness 
and mercy on the one hand, and severity and aus- 
terity on the other. He must know how to yield 
when convinced of his mistake, and how to stand 
firm in a critical issue when he is certain that he 
is right. He must have moral courage ; he must 
also command respect to his ofiice, keep people in 
their places, and conserve his time and energy for 
the most important matters and effectual service. 
He must be a tactician, ruling more often by 
kindly persuasion and entreaty than by order 
and command. 

Many who desire influence for good over oth- 
ers are unable to be trusted with even the over- 
sight of a beast of burden. Some are never able 
to get along with others entrusted to their care, 
because of a general lack of Christian grace and 
divine love. Friction and trouble soon arise, and 
they have to be deprived of their leadership and 
left to work alone at a disadvantage, 

DOING THE HIGHER 

Booker T. Washington built up a wonderful 
school for colored people in the South. As a boy 
he was only a poor slave, but he became in time a 
remarkable educational leader and an overseer of 
men. He wrote in his autobiography. Up From 
Slavery (Doubleday, Page & Co.), "I am often 
asked how it is possible for me to superintend the 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 187 

work at Tuskegee and at the same time be so much 
away from the school. In partial answer to this, 
I would say that I think I have learned, in some 
degree at least, to disregard the old maxim, which 
says, 'Do not get others to do that which you can 
do yourself/ My motto on the other hand, is, *Do 
not do that which others can do as well/ " 

Most people who can and should assume greater 
responsibilities and enlarge their sphere of activ- 
ities, cannot be gotten out of their old ruts. When 
Booker T. Washington learned to do a thing well 
himself, he taught some one else to do it, and 
turned it over to him while he went on to do the 
next thing that his helper could not do. 

Some one has said that "Doing the lower when 
the higher is possible, makes one of the great 
tragedies of life." Booker T. Washington's maxim 
does not apply to the person who loses interest in 
h'3 work, neglects it, and shifts it for some one 
e.ze to take up while he himself looks for some- 
thing easier to do. The man who gets some one 
else to help him in order that he may have time 
for more important things, must see that the 
helper is faithful in his part, or little is gained. 

FIDDLING 

A thing in one's nature that pleads against 
taking on greater responsibility is the disposition 
to fiddle away time at trifling things. As a boy, I 
was quite a tinkerer, and even now I might rob 



188 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

the shoemaker, the locksmith, and the electrician 
of many repair jobs with a great deal of satis- 
faction, if I let the tinkering propensity master 
me. 

The biographer of Wendell Philips, the great 
abolitionist champion of slavery days, writing of 
Philips' childhood tells how, as soon as he got on 
his feet, Wendell began to potter about the house 
with a hammer, chisel, and saw. The great orator 
claimed in later life that there was hardly an or- 
dinary trade in vogue when he was a boy at which 
he had not done many a day's work. His mother 
said: "A good carpenter was spoiled when 
Wendell became a lawyer." But history proves 
that the world had something of greater impor- 
tance for Wendell Philips to do than saw boards 
and drive nails all his life. 

Some men so enjoy fiddling, tinkering, or 
working at ordinary jobs that it is often a real 
sacrifice to give up the habit, especially when 
there seems to be some little profit in it. It may 
be all right on some occasions for one in a re- 
sponsible position to tinker a little for relaxa- 
tion or diversion at an old trade, preferably to- 
ward the end of the day, but such work should not 
be permitted to eat into the hours that should be 
devoted to business, prayer, or study. 

Many people are really fiddling their lives 
away at relatively unimportant things. St. Paul 
said that all things were lawful unto him, but all 



BEARING RESPONSIBILITY 189 

things were not expedient. There are many 
things lawful for us, perhaps, and harmless in 
themselves, but we should be continually asking 
ourselves, "Is what I am doing most expedient? 
Is it an expression of the best that is in me? Does 
it contribute, in the end, to the noblest and high- 
est work for God of which I am capable?'' 



CHAPTER XVII 

SELF-EDUCATION 



«i 



7 can do all things through Christ which 
strengtheneth me/' — ^Phil. 4:13. 

THE object of this chapter is to encourage, 
if possible, those who feel that they are 
handicapped in having very little or no op- 
portunity to acquire an education. Many desire 
knowledge and special training, but despair be- 
cause they have not the means to take them 
through college. 

Some have the notion that learning is strictly 
confined within the walls of an academic lecture 
room, and this they persist in believing in the 
face of the fact that many of the world's greatest 
and best trained men went neither to high school 
nor university. 

William Cobbet, one of England's distin- 
guished men of letters, learned grammar under 
the most trying circumstances. In one of his es- 
says, Advice to Young Men, he wrote, "The 
study of grammar need subtract from the hours 
of no business, nor indeed, from the hours of nec- 
essary exercise; the hours usually spent in the 
tea and coffee shops, and in the mere gossip 

190 



SELF-EDUCATION 191 

which accompany them — ^those wasted hours of 
only one year — employed in the study of English 
grammar, wouia make you a correct speaker and 
writer for the rest of your life. You want no 
school, no room to study in, no expenses, and no 
troublesome circumstances of any sort." He goes 
on to tell how he learned grammar as a private 
soldier on the pay of a sixpence a day. His knap- 
sack was his bookcase, a piece of board on his lap 
was his writing table ; his seat, the edge of his 
guard-bed. He had no money with which to pur- 
chase candles or oil, and in winter time it was 
seldom that he could have any light except 
that of the fire, and only his turn even of that. 
To buy a pen or a bit of paper, Cobbet was com- 
pelled to deny himself some portion of food, 
and that at a time when he was in a state of half 
starvation. He said he had no moment of time 
that he could call his own ; that he had to read or 
write amidst the talking, laughing, singing, 
whistling, and brawling of at least a half score 
of the most thoughtless of men during hours when 
they were free from all control. He said, "Think 
not lightly of the farthing that I had to give now 
and then for ink, pen, or paper." About twopence 
a week remained to each soldier after the market- 
ing had been done. He recalls how on a certain 
Friday, after making all absolutely necessary 
purchases, he had a half -penny in reserve with 
which he intended to buy a red herring in the 



192 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

morning. But when he pulled off his boots, feel- 
ing SO hungry that life was almost unbearable, he 
discovered that he had lost his precious copper 
coin. He relates, "I buried my head under the 
miserable sheet and rug, and cried like a child." 
His own concluding remarks to this account of 
his personal history are well worth repeating, **I 
say, if I, under circumstances like these, could 
encounter and overcome this task, is there, can 
there be, in the whole world, a youth to find an 
excuse for the non-performance? What youth 
who shall read this will not be ashamed to say 
that he is not able to find time and opportunity 
for this most essential of all the branches of book- 
learning?'' 

The story of Elihu Burritt's struggle for an 
education has been told again and again, but his 
rise to high distinction in knowledge in spite of 
poverty and obstacles, is an example which 
William Thayer says, ''explodes excuses." 

Burritt's parents were very poor and the ad- 
vantages of a district school were circumscribed 
by his father's death when he was fifteen years 
old. He apprenticed himself to a blacksmith, but 
took with him to the forge an indomitable taste 
for reading which he says he had acquired through 
the medium of a social library — all of the histori- 
cal works in which, he had read. He conceived the 
idea of studying Latin, and with the help of an 
elder brother, he completed Virgil during the 



SELF-EDUCATION 193 

evenings of one winter. After having devoted 
time to Cicero and a few other Latin authors, he 
commenced the Greek, of which he writes, **At 
this time it was necessary that I should devote 
every hour of daylight, and a part of the evening, 
to the duties of my apprenticeship. Still I carried 
my Greek grammar in my hat, and often found 
a moment, when I was heating some large iron, 
when I could place my book open before me 
against the chimney of my forge, and go through 
with tupto, tupteis, tuptei, unperceived by my 
fellow-apprentices, and, to my confusion of face, 
with a detrimental effect to the charge in my fire. 
In the evening, I sat down, unassisted and alone, 
to the Iliad of Homer, twenty books of which 
measured my progress in that language during 
the evenings of another v/inter.'' 

Elihu Burritt never stopped, poor as he was, 
until the time came when he was famous among 
the educated people of the world for his ability 
to read upward of fifty oriental languages, besides 
having mastered Greek, Latin, French, Spanish, 
German, and Italian. Lack of college advantages 
could not choke his desire to learn. 

The foregoing are only two representatives of 
the long list of great and notable men who in 
youth experienced an almost insatiable thirst for 
learning and so husbanded their spare moments 
for profitable study as to be able to acquire, with- 
out regular schooling opportunities, the very 

Y.H.Y.C— 13. 



194 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

highest type of education and training that could 
be desired. 

Self-instruction is relatively easy in these 
days when books of all kinds, particularly text- 
books and works on home study and self-improv- 
ment, are so plentiful and comparatively inex- 
pensive. 

My readers will bear with me for relating a 
little personal experience with reference to study- 
ing alone. One does not like to recommend to 
others what one has not tested for oneself. 

In my fifteenth year I had managed to finish 
grammar school and one year of high school, in 
spite of the fact that frequent interruptions and 
changes of residence had caused me to be en- 
rolled in about nine different schools. At the end 
of the high school year my Latin professor came 
to me and advised me to study my Latin grammar 
during the summer, so as to be better prepared 
for Caesar the coming year. As a matter of fact, 
my grades in Latin had been getting poorer for 
several months, and for the last month a red mark 
of failure loomed up on the report card. One 
reason for my lack of progress in this branch 
of study was my having to sit in the back of a 
long class room in consequence of our being ar- 
ranged in alphabetical order. I had a good 
many annoyances and disturbances to contend 
with, for which one fellow near me was mainly 
responsible. Nevertheless, I decided to study 



SELF-EDUCATION 195 

the grammar and make up for lost time. I had no 
idea other than that I should have opportunity to 
go right through high school and thence to the 
university. My father and Uncle Charles were 
university men, and my highest and only ambi- 
tion was to follow them. But I did not go back to 
school the following year nor to any public school 
for five years. 

The high school I had attended was one of the 
largest and best equipped in the West, but some 
things went on among the students to give 
it a rather unsavory and unwholesome reputation. 
My mother, who was always, more than any one 
else, concerned about my spiritual and moral in- 
terests, came to the conclusion that I would 
better remain ignorant than run the risk of moral 
contamination, or of becoming imbued with a 
spirit of worldliness by continuing my studies in 
that school. After one of the greatest battles of 
my life, I yielded to her and gave up the high 
school, but my craze for book learning remained. 
As I look back now, I can say that I am more than 
glad that it all turned out as it did. I have become 
thoroughly convinced that certain godless high 
schools and colleges have been unmaking young 
men and women by the thousands all over the 
country. A prominent educator, speaking of a 
well-known university, told me that he would 
not sacrifice a son of his to that institution, 
for he knew too well the character of its social 



196 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

life. It is the kind of society a young person 
enters, and the sort of atmosphere he absorbs, 
that makes or unmakes him. There is the great- 
est difference in the world in schools, and young 
people go to some of them only to come out ruined 
in character or confirmed in infidelity or agnosti- 
cism. One nice appearing, but subtle professor 
of engaging manners, who is a skeptic at heart, 
can destroy in one school-year the simple, child- 
like faith of students, that it has required years of 
prayer and training to build up. I know where 
this sort of thing is being done in a university 
operated under the auspices of a great Protestant 
Church. The question as to what school the 
young person should attend is a very grave one 
to decide. 

The five years that followed my first high 
school experience comprised for me the most im- 
portant period of my education, such as it is, 
whether I could appreciate it at the time or not. 
I was often inclined to weep, feeling that my best 
school years were being thrown away. Among 
the things I was occupied with and learned to 
do were, book-binding, steam-fitting, typewriting, 
and electric wiring. I had to milk cows and plow 
corn. I wrote articles for the junior and senior 
publications of the Pillar of Fire Church. I did 
colporter missionary work from house to house, 
a sort of thing in which I learned much about 
how to approach people and about human nature 



SELF-EDUCATION 197 

in general. I traveled twice to England on evan- 
gelistic tours with my mother, and, during 
one season, harmonized music for hymns and 
managed the publication of a song book. I 
spent much time in New York getting ac- 
quainted with business men and business meth- 
ods while buying supplies for the Pillar of Fire 
missionary headquarters in New Jersey. All this 
time, however, that old, red mark for that last 
month's work in Latin hung over me like a night- 
mare. I still believe the importance of Latin, 
from an educational point of view, can hardly be 
estimated, but its value became emphasized to 
such a degree of exaggeration that I almost be- 
lieved my life would be a total failure unless that 
Latin Grammar were mastered and I could read 
Caesar. I spent hours trying to translate Caesar 
alone, and while I did not get very far along, the 
struggle did me good. I made considerable prog- 
ress with various other subjects. Sometimes my 
cousin studied with me. We studied astronomy, 
history, English, English literature, music, and 
took a correspondence course in physics and ge- 
ometry. Scores of students get as far as the 
sophomore year of high school without learning 
to spell and write well. I made considerable im- 
provement in my spelling and penmanship out of 
school. 

It was not until the end of this five-year pe- 
riod that I really became reconciled to remain 



198 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ignorant so far as going to college was concerned. 
I was in London at the time when I became so re- 
signed. Reading about some of Dickens' strug- 
gles in becoming a writer heartened me, and I 
purposed to mourn no longer my lack of educa- 
tional opportunity, but to continue to make the 
best of what opportunities I had. I had no sooner 
reached this state of mind, when my mother, the 
General Superintendent of our church society 
planned to found an academy. It was decided 
that three or four of us young men should 
be relieved of some of our regular work and be 
given an opportunity to take a special course 
in some preparatory school or university in 
order to advance the interests of such a school as 
she hoped to establish. I was twenty-one when I 
started in with systematic study. After two 
years of preparatory work, I went to Columbia 
University where I succeeded in securing a degree 
of Bachelor of Arts after three years of study. 
This university was selected because of its prox- 
imity to our headquarters, and I was able to con- 
tinue much of my regular church work outside of 
school hours. 

During one of the very first classes I attended 
at college, a professor of history began to talk 
about evolution. I was considerably disturbed 
and warned my mother about some of the things 
she might expect me to encounter in my studies 



SELF-EDUCATION 199 

there. I knew that the professors there were, 
for the most part, not orthodox religiously. 
I feared something might happen to under- 
mine my faith. But Mother reminded me 
that I was now of age, and said that if those 
professors could destroy my faith after all I had 
experienced in religious work and training, the 
sooner she found it out the better. Nevertheless, 
I went on somewhat fearful and in a tremble. 
Evolution bothered me considerably. I was not 
anxious to believe that my ancestors came from 
monkeys. In a certain required philosophy 
course we studied our professor's own text-book 
in which, in a chapter on Evolution, he fearlessly 
makes the following dogmatic statements: '*The 
formidable octopus is the descendant, through 
long generations, of a minute gelatinous crea- 
ture, constituted of a single cell; the powerful 
Percheron horse of today is the direct, though 
greatly modified, descendant of an archaic pigmy 
quadruped with four or five toes instead of one; 
while man himself must trace his lineage back 
to a tree-dwelling animal not unlike one of the 
larger apes. The long process of modification 
and development through which these newer and 
higher types have been produced, has received 
the name of evolution." 

There are some young students who acquire 
early in their college career something of a cyn- 
ical attitude toward their professors and the uni- 



200 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

versify in general. They seem to question every- 
thing, and have the air of knowing so much that 
they appear to be ever challenging the faculty's 
ability to teach them anything at all. They act 
as if the university and, in fact, life itself were 
all more or less of a grand humbug which bores 
them unutterably. 

On the other hand, there are those who never 
question anything a professor says. Many of 
them have never been very far away from home. 
They have never attempted to solve any philo- 
sophical problems. The greatness and history of 
the university inspire them with awe and they 
come to worship it as a fetish. When a professor 
says a man comes from a monkey, that Jesus 
Christ is not divine, or that the doctrine of the 
atonement is all a farce, he must be right with- 
out any question, because he belongs to the fac- 
ulty of one of the world's great institutions of 
learning. They feel the same about alma mater 
as the little boy did about his mother when he 
said, ''What Ma says is so if it ain't so/' 

When our professor came to his chapter on 
Evolution, however, and we were studying his 
unscientific statements about the ape business, I 
was ready for him. Professors often have an 
unfortunate way of teaching their pet theories as 
established facts. They like to drag into the 
realms of science much that belongs only to that 
of philosophic speculation. I had been studying 



SELF-EDUCATION 201 

Doctor Luther T. Townsend's book on the Collapse 
of Evolution* and before I was done, the class 
was astonished to hear the professor admit, when 
questioned, that the theory of Evolution was, in- 
deed, only a theory, that it had many drawbacks, 
and he presumed or hoped some day we would 
have a better one to work with. 

"Nothing,'' says Doctor Townsend, "is better 
established in the realms of science than the con- 
servative announcement of the late Professor 
Cope, a pronounced evolutionist, at least until 
just before before his death: *Retrogradation in 
nature is as well established as evolution/ " 

The unfortunate thing about so many higher 
schools of learning is the dishonest, unscientific 
manner with which many professors deal with 
such problems. The poor students are unaware 
of their subtlety, however, and leave the schools 
in a state of mind that places them almost beyond 
spiritual redemption, — so hardened and preju- 
diced that no gospel message can ever reach them. 

But to get back to the main line: as I look 
over the five years I studied alone and those I 
spent in the university, I believe I learned more 
of real value to me during the former period than 
I did during the latter in school. Knowing what 
I do now of the business world, of the world in 
general, and of the broader aspects of education 
as applied to life, had I to choose between the two 



*See Bibliog. 



202 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

periods as to their relative value, I should take 
the former. A single problem that I had to work 
out by myself, did me more good in many ways 
than five or six that some professor may have 
helped me to solve. This does not mean that I 
underestimate the kindness and friendship of 
many of my college professors, who so often went 
out of their way to assist me, or that I am un- 
grateful for the benefits I have received in any 
of the schools or colleges I attended. I have some 
apprehension lest a few who read this may feel 
that regular schooling is dangerous and of little 
importance, — that they may come to estimate 
lightly some precious privileges. 

The story is told of a speaker at a church con- 
ference who arose and began a tirade against uni- 
versities and education, expressing thankfulness 
that he had never been corrupted by contact 
with a college. After listening to a few minutes 
of this talk, the presiding bishop interrupted with 
the following question : 

"Do I understand that Mr. Dobson is thankful 
for his ignorance?" 

*'Well, yes," was the answer; ''you can put it 
that way, if you like." 

"Well, all I have to say," said the prelate, in 
sweet and musical tones — "all I have to say is 
that he has much to be thankful for." 

As dean of Zarephath Academy and Alma Col- 
lege, where we have able teachers and young 



SELF-EDUCATION 203 

people enjoy so many advantages, I am quite at a 
loss to understand, at times, how some few stu- 
dents are not more enthusiastic in making the best 
of even half their opportunities. To have been 
able to receive instructions early under a faculty 
of God-fearing, Christian teachers would have 
been an opportunity I should have hailed with su- 
preme joy. I have little to say here to the young 
man or woman who wantonly throws away such a 
privilege. This chapter is more especially for 
him whose means are limited, who must work his 
way, and study when he can. 

There are those, too, of maturer years who 
have begun to feel the need of having had a bet- 
ter preparation, in order to serve the Master in 
His vineyard more effectually. It is more diffi- 
cult to encourage those who think that the study 
period of their life is passed, and that they can 
never acquire the study habit. Some can not be- 
lieve that one is never too old to learn. 

Andrew Johnson, fourteenth President of the 
United States, never spent a day in school. His 
wife taught him to write, and read to him during 
the day while he was at work. He could not 
write with ease until he had been in Congress for 
some time. Though mature in years from the 
standpoint of the three E's, he persevered and be- 
came in time a learned man and an able states- 
man. 

Benjamin Franklin was fifty years old before 



204 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

he fully entered upon the study of physics. Dry- 
den and Scott were not recognized as authors un- 
til they had passed the half century mark. It is 
said that James Watt, when between forty and 
fifty, while working at the trade of an instrument 
maker, in Glasgow, learned German, French, and 
Italian, in order to study the valuable works on 
mechanics in those languages. 

William Carvosso's son wrote of his father's 
authorship as follows: "Here is the singular in- 
stance of a man v/riting a volume for the instruc- 
tion of the world, and raising himself into very 
extensive notoriety and esteem by his epistolary 
correspondence; who, at the advanced age of 
sixty-five, had never written a single sentence." 

The trouble with many students, young and old, 
is not a lack of ability or the faculty for learning 
and doing things, but a wrong attitude of mind 
which causes them to have little faith or confi- 
dence in themselves. The greatest task such peo- 
ple have is merely to persuade themselves to be- 
gin. After this battle of self-persuasion is 
fought, the beginning itself is almost invariably 
ten times easier than they imagined. 



CHAPTER XVIII 
''FINALLY, BRETHREN, ... BE PERFECT'' 

'*And the very God of peace sanctify you 
wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul 
and body be preserved blameless unto the coming 
of our Lord Jesus Christ.'' — 1 Thess. 5 :23, 

THE foregoing chapters have to do with mat- 
ters that pertain chiefly to conduct, or cul- 
ture and personal efficiency. They have 
been prepared more especially with young men 
and women in mind who have become converted 
and who feel called to do special service in the 
Master's vineyard as missionaries, deaconesses, 
pastors, and evangelists. It has been assumed, 
in a measure, that such persons already know of 
the importance of being properly equipped spirit- 
ually for such work. The things that have been 
discussed up to this point, though they have an 
immeasurable bearing on the character of one's 
spiritual life, appeal more to the intellect. 

Our spiritual status is judged by the fruits 
that are manifest in our outward life, and there- 
fore the mind and body are in need of training. 
The apple tree produces better and larger apples 
as a result of pruning. Training is to the Chris- 
tian what pruning is to the tree. But pruning 
has its limitations, however valuable a process it 

205 



206 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

is. There are other things inside the bark and 
below the surface of the soil that make for good- 
ness or badness in a tree. 

Some trees growing up out of bad soil are 
naturally bad and not worth pruning. "Now 
also the axe is laid unto the root of the trees: 
therefore every tree which bringeth not forth 
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.'* 
—Matt. 3:10. 

Dr. McElveen says, "You can no more educate 
a bad man into a good man than you can educate 
a buttercup into a butterfly." Culture alone will 
not make a truly good and efficient workman any 
more than will pruning of itself produce good 
fruit. 

There are a great many cultured, refined, edu- 
cated, and efficient people in the world, but so 
many are like an apple tree in my grandfather's 
orchard. This tree was large, healthy-looking 
from the outside, and a prolific producer. It 
grew more apples than any other tree in the 
orchard, but there was a small decayed spot in 
every one of them. 

For a long time people have hoped to bring sal- 
vation to the world through cultural and educa- 
tional means alone. It was supposed by many 
before the great war broke out that modern 
science and education represented the forces that 
would evolve men into supermen or angels. 

The efficient, polished, educated, scientific man 



''FINALLY, BRETHREN, . . BE PERFECT" 207 

may prove a dangerous man to have around if 
his heart is not right. A number of efficient 
philosophers of ''kultur" have been able well-nigh 
to destroy the peace of the whole world. Cul- 
ture is all right in its place, but it will not save 
humanity. 

Modern philosophers have been trying to save 
man by means of external forces. They have 
hoped to elevate him by operating through his en- 
vironment. God's plan is to save the environ- 
ment through a regenerated man. 

Jesus told Nicodemus that he must be born 
again. Spiritual birth means a change of 
heart. The natural, unconverted heart, however 
cultured the brain, ''is deceitful above all things, 
and desperately wicked." God's plan is, first of 
all, to change the heart. The prophet Ezekiel 
says, chapter 36, verse 26, "A new heart also will I 
give you, and a new spirit will I put v/ithin you : 
and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." 

Many schools and preachers are satisfled if 
they can get a young man simply reformed mor- 
ally and make him cultured and skilful in some 
line of work. The Pharisees were spotlessly 
clean on the outside; they were well learned in 
matters pertaining to the law, but Jesus said they 
were like whitened sepulchers full of dead men's 
bones. 

God is not depending upon worldly wisdom 



208 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

and culture to do all His work. He has said, as 
the Weymouth, a modern translation, puts it, "But 
God has chosen the things which the world re- 
gards as foolish, in order to put its wise men to 
shame ; and God has chosen the things which the 
world regards as destitute of influence, in order 
to put its powerful things to shame; and the 
things which the world regards as base, and those 
which it sets utterly at naught — things that have 
no existence — God has chosen in order to reduce 
to nothing things that do exist; to prevent any 
mortal man from boasting in the presence of 
God. But you — and it is all God's doing — are in 
Christ Jesus: He has become for us a wisdom 
which is from God, consisting of righteousness 
and sanctification and deliverance; in order that 
it may be as Scripture says, *He who boasts — let 
his boast be in the Lord.' "—1 Cor. 1 :27-31. 

God wants trained and efficient men and 
women in His service; but more than this He 
wants men filled with the Holy Spirit. As a min- 
ister of the Gospel, as well as a teacher, I should 
feel my work a failure if I could get people no 
farther in educational work, than simple moral 
reformation and a little learning. Paul said, "Woe 
is unto me, if I preach not the gospel !'' and he 
says that the Gospel is the power of God unto sal- 
vation. This is the all-important thing. There 
are thousands of polished, well-educated men in 
the pulpits preaching, but their ministry is not 



''FINALLY, BRETHREN, . . BE PERFECT" 209 

stirring anything because of a lack of the power 
of God manifest in their lives; they have never 
tarried nor received the baptism of the Holy 
Spirit; so very many of them have never even 
experienced conversion. 

Notwithstanding, many newly converted peo- 
ple have imagined that such training and 
discipline as are dealt with in this volume are not 
really necessary, and they have gone forth 
with a Bible under their arms, that they 
knew very little about, believing themselves 
already great evangelists, expecting to convert the 
world by merely opening their mouths for God to 
fill. Many such presumptuous persons have 
had to learn through some humiliating experi- 
ences that able, Spirit-filled apostles and minis- 
ters of the Gospel are not made overnight. On the 
other hand, many called to work for God have 
lost all their inspiration and spiritual bearings, 
never amounting to anything, because they per- 
mitted themselves to believe that a college edu- 
cation must be acquired before they could begin 
preaching the Gospel. Lifeless theological 
institutions and backslidden Bible schools have 
been the Delilahs that have shorn the heads of 
hundreds of Samsons and left them moral and 
spiritual weaklings. 

**Let the bright beams of science shed 
Their choicest influence o'er thy head; 

Y.H.Y.C^i4. 



210 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



And let the classic page impart 
Its raptures to thy glowing heart; 
If Christ, thy Lord, thou do not know, 
Wretched and ignorant art thou. 

"But though, to thee, her beaming ray 
Fair science deigns not to display; 
And, though thy heart has never glowed 
With warmth, by classic page bestowed ; 
Still, if thy Savior, Christ, thou know, 
Happy, and learned, and wise art thou." 



AppmUx 



APPENDIX 

PART I 

PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES AND 
HEALTH NOTES 

THE general position for the following ex- 
ercises is: body erect, shoulders back, eyes 
to the front, chin in, and stomach held in. 
Better form may be maintained if one can exer- 
cise before a large mirror. 

Exercise No. 1. Raise arms outward to hori- 
zontal position level with the shoulders, bring 
them together on the same level in front of body 





with palms facing, return them to first horizontal 
position and repeat; front, out, front, out, etc. 
Count 1 — 2. Be careful to keep the arms mov- 
ing in a level plane and do not bend them. 



214 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Exercise No. 2. Arms down in front of body, 
muscles tense, elbows rigid; raise arms forward 
to a vertical position over head, return, repeat. 
Count 1—2. 

Exercise No. 3. Arms down in front of body, 
muscles tense, elbows rigid, palms facing. De- 
scribe a circle by raising arms outward to verti- 



«• 



t\ 




cal position over head, 
sition, repeat. Count 



Return arms to first po- 
1—2. 



Exercise No ^. Raise arms to vertical posi- 
tion over head with palms forward. Sweep left 
arm forward and downward past line of body to 
back. While left arm is returning to upright po- 
sition, sweep right arm down and repeat, keeping 
arms going simultaneously, moving in opposite 
directions. Count 1 — 2. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES 



215 



Exercise No. 5. Place tips of fingers together 
in front of body as in illustration, keep back 
straight, bend knees, and lower body to sitting po- 
sition on heels with knees wide apart. Rise to 





original position, keeping fingers pressing, and re- 
peat. Count 1 — 2. Tension of the muscles in 
arms and shoulders is regulated by pressure ex- 
erted in ends of fingers. 

Exercise No. 6. Bend trunk forward with 
arms hanging down and hands in position over 
toes, palms facing. Keep knees stiff. Remain 
in this position throughout the exercise. Raise 
arms outward and upward to horizontal position 
alternately. Repeat. Do not let arms swing be- 
yond position over toes. 



216 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Exercise No, 7. Stand erect, hands on hips. 
Bend body forward and rotate trunk either to left 
or right on hips, describing a complete circle with 
head. 




Exercise No. 8. Stand erect, flex arms at sides 
as in illustration. Jump to position with feet 
apart, trunk forward and arms down simultane- 



PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES 



217 



ously as in illustration. Return to erect position 
with arms flexed. Stretch arms outward to hori- 
zontal position, back to flexed position. Count 1, 
2, 3, 4. Repeat. 

Exercise No. 9. Stand erect with arms out 
to horizontal position at sides of body, palms for- 
ward. Swing arms to front, crossing each other. 



^S;: 




Return to original outstretched position. Repeat. 
Swing first one arm above, then the other. Count 
1—2. 

Exercise No. 10. Stand erect, arms down at 
sides, palms in. Inhale. Bend trunk forward, 
backward, erect, exhale. Keep arms rigid at 
sides throughout the exercise. Repeat. 



218 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Exercise No. 11. Same as No. 10, except that 
trunk bends from side to side instead of forward 
and backward. 

EXERCISES FOR BICEPS 

Exercise No. 12. Body position like that in 
illustration with arms flexed over shoulders and 
hands clinched. Be careful to keep upper arms 





^s^ 



in horizontal position. Do not let them drop 
down. From this position extend both arms out 
straight. Return arms to flexed position. Re- 
peat. Count 1 — 2. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES 



219 



Exercise No. 13. Same as exercise No. 12, 
except that arms extend upward to vertical posi- 
tion from horizontal flexed position. 

Exercise No. lA. Same as exercises Nos. 12 
and 13, except that arms are thrust downward 





from flexed position with backs of hands turned 
toward body. In this exercise the upper arms 
in the flexed position may be lowered slightly 
from a horizontal position. Repeat and count 
1 — 2, as in the previous exercises. 



220 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



FLOOR EXERCISES 

Exercise No. 15. Lie on floor or mat on back; 
hands on hips. Raise one leg across the other 
and touch the toe to the floor as far up as pos- 
sible toward the waist line as in illustration. Re- 
turn leg to first position and raise other leg, re- 




156 



peating the movements with each leg alternatel5^ 
This is especially good for constipation, and 
should be done twenty to thirty times or even 
more with each leg. 



PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES 



221 



Exercise No. 16. Lying on back, stretch arms 
back over head in a position in line with body. 
Raise trunk and try to touch toes with hands. 
Keep knees stiff. Return, repeat. 





Exercise No. 17. Lying on back with arms 
rigid at sides of body, raise legs alternately to 
vertical position. Repeat. Count 1- — 2. 



222 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Exercise No. 18. Same as in exercise No. 17, 
except that legs are raised together instead of al- 
ternately. 





Exercise No. 19. Assume position on floor 
as in illustration. Raise and lower body with 
arms. Keep body stiff and in a straight line* 



PHYSICAL CULTURE EXERCISES 



223 



JUMPING EXERCISES 

Exercise No. 20. Body erect, stomach in, chin 
in, hands on hips. Jump lightly on toes from po- 
sition with feet together to one with feet apart. 
Repeat. Count 1 — 2. 




20a 




Exercise No. 21. From a standing position 
with feet apart, jump on toes to position with legs 
crossed. Repeat exercises with first one leg in 
front and then the other. 



224 



YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 



Exercise No. 22. General position same as in 
Ji^xercise No. 20. Raise one leg outward while 
jumping on toes of other foot twice and as the 
first leg returns to position for two jumps the 
other leg is raised outward, etc. Keep legs goin^ 
alternately. Keep trunk as still as possible. 





Exercise No. 23. Prancing exercise. Raise 
knee of one leg as high as possible, then the other, 
jumping lightly on toes. Keep the knees going 
up and down alternately. 

DEEP BREATHING 

Throughout the exercises one should pay par- 
ticular attention to the matter of respiration. 
Deep diaphragmic breathing should be done si- 
multaneously with the movements. One must aim 
at increasing chest and lung capacity. 

Comparatively few people appreciate the im- 
portance of correct breathing. Innumerable ail- 



DEEP BREATHING 225 

ments are due directly or indirectly to improper 
functioning of the lungs. One specialist affirms 
that most cases of indigestion, biliousness, and 
constipation, when not due to the greatest er- 
ror in diet, are due to incorrect and shallow 
breathing. 

A person may go for weeks without food and 
he may get along without water for days at a time, 
but almost instant death results when he stops 
breathing and the body ceases to receive its sup- 
ply of purifying oxygen furnished by the lungs. 

Civilized man is woefully weak-lunged. Too 
many people live and work a greater portion of 
their time indoors and pay little or no attention 
to proper respiration. It is estimated that about 
thirty-three per cent of mortality is due to con- 
sumption, pneumonia, or other lung diseases. 

Deep, diaphragmic breathing should become a 
habit. A person may not feel that he can be ever- 
lastingly thinking about taking deep breaths, but 
if diaphragmic breathing is practised faithfully 
at regular intervals in the beginning, it will, in 
time, become more or less habitual. 

One should learn to acquire complete control 
over the diaphragm. In learning to breathe dia- 
phragmically one should lie on one's back in a re- 
laxed state. By placing the hands on different 
parts of the chest and abdomen as one inhales and 
exhales, it will be found that the greater expan- 
sion and contraction is in the abdominal region, 
about midway between the lower end of the breast 
bone and the navel. 

Too much cannot be said about the importance 
of respiration. In teaching physical culture 
classes, I have found that so many forget easily 
about the breathing part. It requires considera- 

Y.H.Y.C— 15. 



226 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

ble effort and exercise of will-power to concen- 
trate the mind upon it, but it pays well in the end. 

AMOUNT OF EXERCISE, CAUTION 

Those who have never taken systematic phys- 
ical culture exercises should be very careful not 
to overdo at first. One of the main faults with 
the beginner is his tendency to go to excesses in 
exercising. Each of the foregoing exercises done 
but once or twice with the muscles relaxed is suf- 
ficient for the first time. One may not feel that 
so little is of any benefit, but the heart must be 
trained for strenuous work slowly. In the course 
of a few days, or weeks, the number of times each 
exercise is taken may be increased. 

Those who are very weak must be patient, 
and careful not to use up more vitality through 
excess than they are able to regain. As time 
goes on and the exercises taken but lightly do not 
overtax the system, their strenuousness may be 
increased by using dumb-bells of from one to 
three or four pounds, or by clinching the fists so 
as to make the muscles tense. Varying degrees 
of tension in the muscles correspond to dumb- 
bells of different weights. 

PERSPIRATION 

When one's muscles have become hardened 
and the system more used to so many different 
movements, it will be found that the best results 
are obtained from exercises if one can work one- 
self into a state of perspiration and take a bath 
immediately afterward. 

BATHING 

There is nothing much more enjoyable and re- 



BATHING 227 

freshing than a good shower bath after a person 
has exercised himself into a perspiring condition. 
I say shower bath advisedly. People are gradually 
becoming educated to the fact that for ordinary 
bathing the shower bath is far superior to the 
tub bath. It is more sanitary; more economical 
in the amount of water used; more convenient, 
requiring less time for bathing ; and the temper- 
ature of the water may be varied easily where a 
hot and cold water supply is available. Some 
bathers do not like to wet the head every time 
they bathe, and therefore object to the overhead 
shower. A few of my readers who do not object 
to being known as bathing faddists may be in- 
terested in an inexpensive, but highly satis- 
factory spray bath fixture known as the Curtain- 
less Shower* which may be affixed to any ordi- 
nary bathtub. These are all their makers say they 
are, and any person with the least bit of me- 
chanical ingenuity can install one himself. I 
have mentioned this simply because I believe this 
arrangement pleads at comparatively small cost 
for a much higher standard of clean living than 
does the old-fashioned tub bath. 

In general there are several things to be said 
about bathing, for a person may easily do him- 
self more harm than good by it. In the first 
place, great care should be taken between the 
time when the exercises have been taken and the 
bath, that one does not catch cold. This can not 
be emphasized too much. I have known some 
severe colds to be contracted by careless ex- 
posure during this interval. Watch your temper- 
ature closely when you are perspiring, and put 



'- See Bihliog, 



228 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

on a heavy bath-robe, or protect yourself with a 
blanket if several minutes must elapse before the 
bath. 

It is not advisable to plunge into very cold wa- 
ter when the system has been heated up by exer- 
cising. Hot or warm water should be used at 
first and the change to cold should be gradual. 
Plenty of soap and warm water are good for 
cleansing out the pores of the skin when one has 
been perspiring freely during exercise. Always 
finish with cold water or that of a temperature 
somewhat lower than the body temperature so as 
to close up the pores and lessen the danger to 
exposure of the system to cold. 

Half of the enjoyment of a good bath is the 
massage with a Turkish towel afterwards to give 
a red glow to the body, indicating accelerated cir- 
culation of the blood. 

EXERCISE AND BATHING AFTER MEALS 

Do not exercise strenuously within two hours 
after a meal. Endeavor to let at least three hours 
elapse. When one has eaten a meal, the digestive 
apparatus sets to work to appropriate and assim- 
ilate the food. This causes an increase in the 
flow of blood to the abdominal region where these 
processes are going on. Digestion continues for 
two and three hours after eating, depending on 
the kind of food that is partaken of. When 
strenuous exercise, or bathing is indulged in dur- 
ing these processes, digestion may be more or less 
interfered with, owing to the blood's being taken 
from these parts and made to circulate with 
greater acceleration to the regions where spe- 
cial work is being done. Bathing immediately 
after meals is more harmful than good and 



EXERCISE AND BATHING 229 

has often caused indigestion and even cramps. 

One may bathe too much and progressively 
decrease body vitality. Two young women in a 
certain college seemed to be losing their strength 
and vigor. Considerable difficulty was expe- 
rienced in finding out where the trouble lay. It 
was not apparent that they were studying too 
much, that they neglected exercise, or that they 
were careless in the matter of diet. Finally their 
physical examiners found that they were bathing 
twice a day. They were told to change their 
bathing regime. They altered it very consider- 
ably with the result that their vigor was re- 
gained. 

The fleshy person may do more bathing in hot 
water than the one who tends to be too light in 
weight. The normal bath when taken after 
periods of strenuous exercise, as many as four 
or five times a week, should not last more than 
three or four minutes. No hard and fast rules 
can be laid down, however, for bathing. The con- 
dition of the individual with reference to age, sex, 
weight, temperament, and habits, must be taken 
into consideration. Exercise and bathing are 
stimulating. The immediate after-effects should 
be noted as well as those of several hours. Over- 
stimulation may result in a feeling of restlessness 
followed by a lack of energy and ambition. 

People who are weak and nervous should avoid 
water so cold as will render them unable to at- 
tain a glow with moderate warmth after bathing 
and rubbing with a towel. Take water no colder 
than will make easily possible the regaining of 
warm body temperature by towel massage. 

The benefits of health culture, including deep 
breathing exercises and bathing, are inestimable 



230 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

when proper precautions are taken and common 
sense used. By studying and putting into prac- 
tise some rational system of physical culture, 
many who have merely dragged out a miserable 
physical existence have been transformed in a 
few months' time into a state in which living, 
from the physical standpoint, is a real joy. 

DRINKING OF WATER 

The drmking of Vv^ater is one of the most im- 
portant matters in the subject of hygiene. It is 
important that the liquid balance of the body be 
maintained. Hough and Sedgwick say, in their 
book. The Human Mechanisw., on the subject of 
water : "Many people, and especially many women, 
drink too little water. Water is constantly being 
lost through the lungs, skin, or kidneys, and this 
loss is only partially made good by oxidation of 
the hydrogen of the proteids and fats. No rules 
as to the amount can be given, since it varies so 
much with temperature and the amount of mus- 
cular activity ; but the habit of drinking no water 
between meals and but little at the table, in spite 
of popular opinion on the subject, is to be strongly 
deprecated. V/e have already shown that the ab- 
straction of undue amounts of water by perspira- 
tion may seriously interfere with the secretion of 
the gastric juice, and there is every reason to be- 
lieve that a deficiency in the supply of water to 
the blood similarly interferes with the secretion 
of the other digestive juices, and so, by impairing 
intestinal digestion, favors constipation. Undue 
emphasis has been laid upon the danger of drink- 
ing water with meals. The reasons given — ^that 
such water unduly dilutes the gastric juice or 



DRINKING OF WATER 231 

takes the place of a normal secretion of saliva — 
are questionable. As a matter of fact, the water 
thus taken is soon discharged into the intestine 
and absorbed. It is true, however, that the use 
of too much fluid with the meal is apt to lead to 
insufficient mastication because it makes it easier 
to swallow the food ; and from this point of view 
caution is advisable. It is probably also true that 
much drinking with meals tends to overeating, 
by facilitating rapid eating; and it may be that 
this is one reason why fat people are usually great 
drinkers." 

Doctor Meylan, of Columbia University Gym- 
nasium, tells how young men who are heavier 
than they desire to be, put on woolen sweaters, go 
into the gymnasium and play a strenuous game 
of basket-ball or hand-ball to reduce their vv^eight. 
They perspire so freely that they find that the^^ 
have lost several pounds when they stand on the 
scales after the hard work. Very much pleased, 
they forthwith determine to adhere to an ab- 
stemious diet for a time in order not to get this 
surplus weight back. On coming back the next 
day to try the scales, however, they are aston- 
ished to find that, in spite of the starvation re- 
gime, to which they have been subjecting them- 
selves, they weigh as much as they did before, if 
not a little more. The explanation the Doctor 
gives is that after the exercise, they are very 
thirsty and they get all their weight back, not in 
eating, but at the drinking fountain. The fat 
man should not try to do without water alto- 
gether in order to reduce his weight, but he 
should take care not to drink too much. 

On the other hand. Doctor Meylan, teaching a 
class in hygiene, about the importance of drinking 



232 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

plenty of water, told how many rich, Wall Street 
business men neglect it, and about the only way 
their good physicians have of beguiling them into 
drinking it is to prescribe some particular brand 
of spring water that costs the magnates about a 
dollar a bottle, but which is really no better than 
that which comes from the kitchen faucet. Be- 
cause they have to pay for it, they drink it, and 
tlieir ailments disappear. 

Several glasses should be taken between meals 
and one or two invariably on rising in the morn- 
ing. The alimentary canal needs a morning bath 
to wash down mucous that may have accumulated 
during the night, and the kindneys benefit greatly 
in being flushed out at this time of the day. 

THE CARE OF THE EYES 

I have been blest with very good eyesight, 
and up until the present time have not had to wear 
glasses. Once I feared the time had come when 
I must resort to spectacles. My eyes began to^ 
fail me, seemingly, and I experienced trouble with 
them that I had not known before. They would 
pain me when I tried to read very long at a time. 
At first I began to suppose that several years of 
hard study had impaired them, and that though 
I was only twenty-eight years old, I must, as do 
hundreds of others who read a great deal, wear 
glasses. But fortunately, I began to study my 
condition myself first before going to an oculist. 
I surmised that the chief difficulty was due to 
eyestrain brought about by reading a book of fine 
print early every morning, as I had been doing 
for several weeks. It had been my habit to jump 
out of bed and, within a few moments' time, have 



CARE OF THE EYES 233 

my eyesight concentrated on this fine print. The 
first thing I did was to alter my reading habits 
until my eyes could get a rest. The next thing 
was to take some eye exercises which I give in 
brief from a book* I purchased on the care and 
treatment of the eyes. In a few weeks' time 
my eyesight was normal again and though I may 
have to wear glasses some day, I believe I have 
learned something in the matter of proper care 
of the eyes that may postpone this artificial aid 
indefinitely. Had I put glasses on when my eyes 
first began troubling me, my sight might have 
been permanently impaired. 

Some eye trouble is due to various disorders 
of the system, and might be gotten rid of by fol- 
lowing some such regime as would improve the 
general physical condition. There are other suf- 
ferers whose ocular defects are such as can not be 
cured as simply as suggested here, and who 
would be doing themselves and their eyes an in- 
justice not to help their vision with proper lenses. 
It is a mistake, however, to begin wearing glasses 
at the least provocation. 

EYE EXERCISES 

Care should be used not to tire the eyes too 
much when one first begins this treatment. 

Exercise No. 1. Roll eyeballs from right to 
left as far as possible. Repeat. 

Exercise No. 2. Open eyes wide and close 
eyelids tight together several times. 

Exercise No. 3. Look upward to right as far 
as possible; roll eyeballs downward to left. Re- 
peat. 

^See Bibliog. 



234 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Exercise No. i. Roll eyeballs in a wide cir- 
cle to the right. 

Exercise No. 5. Same as Exercise No. 3, ex- 
cept that the eyes are turned upward to the left 
and downward to the right. Repeat. 

Exercise No. 6. Roll eyeballs in a wide cir- 
cle to the left. 

Exercise No. 7. Turn eyes straight upward, 
and then look straight downward. Repeat. 

Exercise No. 8. Look straight forward and 
try to distinguish small details at a distance ; then 
look at something near. Repeat. 

Eye Massage: Press the eyeballs lightly be- 
tween the thumb and fingers to massage the eye 
muscles. 

After exercises and the massaging, bathe the 
eyeballs in salt water. Dissolve a heaping spoon- 
ful of salt in a half-bowl of water. Immerse the 
face in the water and open the eyes several times 
under water. Repeat this operation three or four 
times. 

Rest the eyes now and then while engaged in 
*near work. Look away for a few moments at a 
distant object. This change brings about a re- 
laxation that does lor the eye mechanism exactly 
v/hat a brief relaxation of the body in sleep ac- 
complishes for the body as a whole. 

Do not read with the light either too intense 
or too weak. *'Any printed matter which must 
be held less than eighteen inches from the eyes in 
order to be seen clearly is undesirable for long 
continued reading." 



THE TEETH 235 



CARE OF THE TEETH 



The condition of one's teeth is very much a 
tell-tale mark of character. The person who al- 
lows his teeth to remain ever yellow and un- 
sightly with tartar, and particles of decaying 
food matter adhering to them, hurts his influ- 
ence with refined and particular people. On the 
other hand, clean, white, well-kept teeth, consti- 
tute one of the principal charms of a good ap- 
pearance, and bear testimony to the faithful per- 
formance of a duty a person owes both to himself 
and to others about him. Recent investigations 
reveal that dental conditions in the mouth have 
a far greater bearing on one's health than peo- 
ple ordinarily suppose. Cases are now on record 
of people who have been cured of insanity by the 
extraction of diseased teeth. A certain man 
suffered for years from acute rheumatism. His 
dentist finally discovered a blind abscess which 
was opened and cured, with the result that the 
rheumatism left him. 

Disorders of the stomach, headache, defective 
eyesight, bad breath may, in many instances, be 
remedied by giving the teeth prophylactic treat- 
ment, — cleaning, filling cavities, etc. 

One writer declares that the bad condition of 
our teeth as a nation is the most serious health 
problem that we have to face to-day. 

One should make a desperate effort to pre- 
serve the natural teeth, for artificial ones are 
never so good as the natural ones when the latter 
are in a good state of preservation. 

Keeping the mouth and teeth clean removes 
one of the principal causes of decay. In some 
instances special dentifrices and mouth washes 



236 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

should be prescribed or provided by the dentist, 
owing to a special condition that may exist in 
one's mouth. There are numerous good prepara- 
tions in paste, liquid, or powder form. The 
following formula published by the New YorK 
Department of Hygiene is recommended for pub- 
lic school children and may be mixed at home at 
very small cost: 

4 rounded tablespoonfuls powdered chalk, 
1 rounded tablespoonful powdered castile 

soap, 
1 teaspoonful powdered sugar, 
1 teaspoonful powdered orris root, 
1 drop oil of wintergreen. 

Another of the chief causes of decay in teeth 
is a condition of acidity in the mouth. Tests with 
litmus paper will reveal this. One whose teeth 
are suffering from acidity should use one of four 
neutralizing agents. First, prepared chalk, 
which constitutes the basis of most good denti- 
frices; second, bicarbonate of soda: third, lime- 
water ; and fourth, milk of magnesia. 

If bicarbonate of soda is used, dissolve as 
much as can be held upon a dime in water and 
rinse the mouth out well before retiring. Lime- 
water may be prepared as follows: Take a littb 
lime on a piece of board (or anything which will 
not be broken with the heat evolved in bringing 
water and lime together) and slake it. Put the 
slaked lime in a bottle and pour in a quantity of 
water. This can be kept on hand, and if not too 
strong, being sufficiently diluted with water, will 
serve as an excellent mouth wash. 

If milk of magnesia is used, a good way is to 



CARE OF THE TEETH 237 

take a teaspoonful into the mouth and work it 
about the teeth with the tongue. This should be 
done at night after brushing the teeth. 

It is well to brush the teeth after each meal. 
Care should be taken to use the brush properly. 
Brush the upper teeth downward and the lower 
teeth upward. Brush the sides of the teeth next 
to the tongue the same way. Avoid the cross- 
wise motion which causes injury to the gums, 
pushing them away from the teeth. Take special 
pains to get the bristles far back around the last 
molars, which tend to be the ones most neglected. 
Brushing the teeth at night accomplishes more 
toward restraining bacterial action than does 
brushing them in the morning. 

Brushing does not always remove deposits of 
food mater. Occasionally dental floss should be 
drawn between the teeth and up in under the 
gums to remove what the brush can not get at. 

Go to the dentist, by all means, at least twice 
a year and insist upon a thorough examination. 
Have the teeth polished if they need it to remove 
stains and tartar, and see that all cavities are 
filled. Good dental work may seem expensive, 
but from a standpoint of relative values, good 
health and personal efficiency, preventive meas- 
ures thus employed in the preservation of the 
teeth pay a thousand times over in the end. 

'The most dangerous feature of tooth-root in- 
fection is that it is like a thief in the night, nei- 
ther seen nor felt. A colony of bacteria may 
lodge at the end of a tooth root and the owner of 
the tooth be none the wiser. He may suffer poor 
health generally; rheumatism, heart trouble, kid- 
ney affection, nervousness, insanity, or stomach 
trouble may attack him, and yet the offending 



238 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

tooth never be suspected of being the cause of the 
suffering. Any person who has ever had any 
dental work done, especially capping or crown- 
ing, would do well to have an X-ray photograph 
taken of his mouth, because the X-ray is the only 
sure means of knowing the condition about the 
roots of the teeth/' 



Part II 

TABLE ETIQUETTE 

AMONG the first things ''a man should learn 
is how to place a chair for a lady at a table. 
It would be the height of ill maners to 
seat himself at a table before the ladies of the 
company had taken their seats, and especially, he 
should wait until his hostess is seated/' 

"The foe of all ease of manner is self -con- 
sciousness/' Sit in a graceful, upright position, 
neither too close, nor yet too far from the table. 

Give particular attention to the position of the 
arms. Do not rest the arms and elbows on the 
table while eating. 

A table is not complete without napkins. It 
is not considered good form to fasten a napkin in 
the buttonhole of one's waistcoat or to tuck a cor- 
ner of it down one's neck. It should be left partly 
folded and laid across the lap. At the end of a 
meal the napkin should be left unfolded on the 
table when rising unless one is residing for a day 
or two in a friend's house. In this case the guest 
does as the host and hostess do, for fresh linen is 
not supplied at each meal in every household. 

The knife is for cutting purposes and for 
spreading butter on bread, but it must not take 
the place of the fork, which is used to convey all 
food to the mouth, except certain sauces, or soup, 
more conveniently eaten with a spoon. 



240 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

The fork should not be loaded to its full ca- 
pacity. Let the food cover only part of it; leave 
half the prong part tov^ard the handle exposed. 
Ices, frozen puddings, melons, and salads are 
eaten v^ith a fork. 

When it is necessary to use the knife and fork 
together for cutting, take the fork in the left 
hand, turn it over v^ith the points dovy^n, hold it in 
the palm of the hand with the forefinger ex- 
tended toward the tines, and use it to hold in 
place the piece to be cut. Hold the knife sim- 
ilarly in the right hand. Cut off one bite. Lay 
the knife down on the plate, transfer the fork to 
the right hand. Do not eat with the left hand. 
This operation of transferring the fork should be 
repeated for each bite. Anything hard enough to 
cut should be chewed long enough to allow time 
for the transfer of the fork. It is not in good 
form to cut off more than one piece at a time. 

When not in use the knife and fork should rest 
wholly on the plate, and at the end of the course 
or meal be placed together, their points touching 
the center, and their handles resting on the edge 
of the plate. 

It is unsightly to pile the food high on one's 
plate. Leave some of the plate clear. Avoid tak- 
ing too large portions. 

The spoon should be used with a certain del- 
icacy. Hold it as the fork is held, between the 
thumb and first fingers. Eat more from the side 
than from the end of the spoon. Care should be 
used when partaking of soup not to make a sipping 
noise. It is best to dip up soup with an outward 
motion rather than by drawing the spoon toward 
one. 



TABLE ETIQUETTE 241 

Do not drink from n teacup with a spoon in it. 

Do not drink a whole glass of water, or a 
whole cup of anything without stopping. Take 
not more than three sups or three swallows at 
one time. 

Do not eat fast. Bolting one's food is one 
of the sins of modern times. Too much can not be 
said about the harmful results of failing to masti- 
cate one's food thoroughly on account of eating 
fast. 

Do not put your own knife, fork, or spoon 
into a dish from which others are to be helped. 

"Let all your movements be easy and deliber- 
ate. Undue haste indicates a nervous lack of 
ease.'' 

"Exhibit no impatience to be served. During 
the intervals between the courses is your opportu- 
nity for displaying your conversational abilities 
to those sit+ing near you. Pleasant chat and 
witty remaiks compose the best possible sauce to 
a good dinner." 

One should not place waste matter on the table- 
cloth. The side of the plate, or possibly, the 
bread and butter plate, may answer as a recepta- 
cle for potato skins, and the like. 

Do not forget to pass food to your neighbor. 
Try to discover his need and do not embarrass 
him by offering him several things at one time. 

After a fruit course or at the end of a meal 
when finger-bowls are used, each hand in turn 
should be dipped in the water and not both to- 
gether as if the bowl were a wash basin. The 
finger tips are rubbed together and dried with the 
napkin on the knees. 

Y.H.Y.C— 16. 



242 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

In case of an accident at the table, profuse 
apologies are not in place. It is enough to say to 
one's hostess, 'Tlease forgive me for my awk- 
wardness,'' or something equivalent. 

WHAT MAY BE EATEN WITH THE FINGERS 

"There are a number of things that the most 
fastidious and well-behaved persons now eat at 
the dinner-table without the aid of either knife, 
fork, or spoon. For instance: 

"Olives, to which a fork should never be ap- 
plied. 

"Celery, which may properly be placed on the 
table-cloth beside the plate. 

"Bread, toast, tarts, small cakes, etc. 
"Fruits of all kinds, except preserves, which 
are eaten with a spoon. 

"Cheese is almost invariably eaten v/ith the 
fingers by the most particular.'' It may, how- 
ever, be cut into bits, placed on small pieces of 
bread or biscuit and eaten with the fingers. 

"An orange may be cut into four pieces; the 
skin then easily drawn off, the seeds pressed out, 
and each quarter severed twice, forms a suitable 
mouthful. Deliberately to peel and devour an 
orange, slice by slice, is a prolonged and ungrace- 
ful performance." 

SUMMARY OF THINGS TO BE AVOIDED 

The following suggestions are from Mrs. Sang- 
ster's summary of blunders to avoid: 
"Do not fill the mouth too full. 
"Do not open the mouth in masticating. 



TABLE ETIQUETTE 243 

''Do not leave the table with food in your 
mouth. 

'*Be careful to avoid soiling the cloth. 

"Never carry any part of the food with you 
from the table. 

"Never apologize to a waitress for making 
trouble; it is her business to serve you. It is 
proper, however, to treat her with courtesy and 
say, *No, I thank you,' or, *If you please,' in an- 
swer to her inquiries. 

"Do not introduce disgusting or unpleasant 
topics of conversation. 

"Do not pick your teeth or put your finger in 
your mouth at the table. 

'*Do not come to the table in your shirt sleeves, 
or with soiled hands or tousled hair. 

"Do not cut bread; break it. 

"Do not refuse to take the last piece of bread 
or cake; it looks as though you imagined there 
might be no more. 

"Do not express a preference for any part of 
a dish, unless asked to do so." 

THE WAITER'S TIP 

Ten per cent of the cost of a luncheon or din- 
ner is regarded as adequate compensation for the 
waiter when the meal is taken in a dining-car or 
restaurant. 



PART 111 
CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 

In the following exercises some of the more 
common errors of speech are considered. Mis- 
takes made by nearly every one, tutored and un- 
tutored, are represented here. A mastery of the 
following drills alone will do much to transform 
the language of the poorest speaker. 



Pronunciation 


Correct 


Incorrrect. 


Just,'2^ like uin must 

can 

get 

have to 

fellow 


Jist or jest 

kin 

git 

hafta 

feller 


I was going 

I used to go there. 


I wuz goin' 
I usta, or I use to 
go there. 


"Rear'' and 


"Raise" 


Say: 
Where I was reared. 


Don't say: 
Where I was raised. 



Rule: Use rear for persons, raise for an- 
imals. For instance : These children were reared 
in a Christian home. Mr. Thompson raises pigs. 

244 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 245 

"Loan'' and "Lend" 

Say: Don't say: 

May I borrow your. Can I have a loan of 

pen, or, your pen? 

Will you lend me Will you loan me 

your pencil? your pencil? 

Rule: Use loan as a noun meaning a sum 
of money, as in: 

He secured a loan of fifty thousand dollars. 

Correct uses of lend: Lend me your ruler. 
Will you kindly lend me your umbrella? 

"OP' 

Say: Don't say: 

Ten minutes of nine. Ten minutes to nine. 

He died of pneu- He died with 

monia. pneumonia. 

Note: If he died with pneumonia, then pneu- 
monia died with him and there would be no more 
pneumonia for anybody else to die of. 

"Well" and "Good" 

Do not use the adjective good for the adverb 
well. 

Drill 

He writes well. (Not good.) 
Do that well. (Not good.) 
Eleanor, you play that piece very well. (Not 
good.) : j 

He is a good carpenter and he builds well. 



246 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

He said the orange tasted good. (Good 
orange.) 

"Bad" and "Badly" 

Bad is an adjective and hadly is an adverb. 
Adverbs in general answer the questions, how, 
when, and where, and in so doing describe, limit, 
or modify verbs. 

Say : Don't say : 

I feel ill or had. I feel hadly this morning. 

Note: Bad or ill as adjectives describe the 
condition of your feelings or health. To say, '*I 
feel badly," would mean that one's sense of touch 
is poor. 

Use of "Only" 

Care should be used to put the word only in 
its proper place in a sentence. One of the un- 
mistakable marks of refinement in speech is to be 
able to use only where it belongs. Too much 
emphasis cannot be laid on the correct use of this 
word. 

Say : Don't say : 

I have only three. I only have three. 

John saw only four John only saw four 

men waiting. men waiting. 

I am going only to I am only going to 

the corner. the corner. 

I met you only once I only met you once 
before. before. 

Note: In the sentence, "I only have 
three," the meaning is that I am the only person 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 247 

who has three. In the second sentence of the 
second group, John is the only person who saw 
four men waiting, etc. Care should be used to 
place the adverb after the verb it modifies. 

"DonH" and "DoesnH'^ 

Say : Don't say : 

He doesn't come reg- He don't come regu- 

ularly to school. larly to school. 

Charles doesn't do his Charles don't do his 

work very well. work very well. 

It doesn't agree with It don't agree with 

me. me. 

Note: The contractions don't and doesn't 
mean respectively do not and does not. One 
would not be likely to say, *'He do not come reg- 
ularly to school." Whenever there is a doubt 
about the use of don't, apply the do-not test, and 
whether or not it is used correctly will be deter- 
mined easily. 

"Informed" and "Posted" 

Drill 
He is very well informed. (Not: He is very 
well posted.) 

She reads much and is well informed. (Not 
posted.) 

Professor Smith is well informed on that par- 
ticular subject. (Not posted.) 

"Fear" and "Afraid" 

Drill 
I fear that I can not go (Not: I am afraid.) 



248 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

I fear that Harry has been hurt seriously. 
(Not: I am afraid.) 

I fear that the child will inconvenience you. 
(Not: I am afraid.) 

I fear very much that you are in the wrong 
this time. (Not: I am afraid.) 

Note : — Avoid the use of the word afraid un- 
less actual fear of something is to be expressed. 

Correct use of afraid : I was afraid the animal 
would spring at me. 

"Guess" and "Think" 

Drill 

I think he will return home on Tuesday. (Not 
guess.) 

I think I shall stay at home all day tomorrow. 
(Not guess.) 

I think so. (Not : I guess so.) 

Correct use of guess : "I guessed it correctly." 
"Can you guess what I have found?" 

Miscellaneous 

Say: Don't say: 

I saw. I have saw. 

I can hardly. I can't hardly. 

I can scarcely see. I can't scarcely see. 

I haven't any. I haven't none. 

I didn't say anything I didn't say 

to him, or, I said nothing to 

nothing to him. him. 

I did nothing regard- I never did nothing 

ing it. about it. 

I will teach it to you. I will learn it to you. 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 249 

I want this one. I want this here one. 

Give me that one Give me that there 
please. one please. 

Where is he? Where is he at? 

Where has he Where has he gone 
gone ? to ? 

He is not going. He ain't goin'. 

Anybody else's um- Anybody's else um- 
brella will do. brella will do. 

''Very much'' and ^^ery'' 

Drill 

I was delighted to meet him, or, I was very 
much delighted to meet him. (Not very delighted.) 

I am pleased to see this, or, I am very much 
pleased to see this. (Not very pleased.) 

We are disappointed that you can not be here. 
We are very much disappointed that you can not 
be here. (Not very disappointed.) 

I am distressed over the matter. I am very 
much distressed over the matter. (Not very dis- 
tressed.) 

I am obliged to you. I am very much obliged 
to you. (Not very obliged.) 

Note: Very cannot directly modify a verb, 
and, hence, not its past participle. 

Superfluous use of "Got" 

Say: Don't say: 

I have three apples in I've got three apples 
my pocket. in my pocket. 



250 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Say: Don't say: 

John has two men John has g^oi two 

with him. men with him. 

We have six miles to We have got six 

go yet. miles to go yet. 

I must go, or, I have I have simply got to 

to go. go. 

You must do it, or, You have got to do 

you have to do it. it. 

Note: Got is superfluous when used with 
have to denote possession or necessity. 

"Kind'' 

Say: Don't say: 

I do not like that kind I do not like those 
(or those kinds) of kind of 

apples. apples. 

I do not like this kind I do not like these 
of dishes. Or, I do kind of dishes, 

not like these kinds 
of dishes. 

Note : That and kind must agree in number. 
Care should be used in such sentences not to mis- 
use a after kind of; thus, *'I do not like that 
kind of a hat," for "I do not like that kind of hat." 

Drill 

I do not like that kind of story. (Not kind of a 
or kind & or kinda.) 

Do you like those kinds of books? (Not those 
kind.) 

I am fond of this kind of cherries. (Not these 
kind.) 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 251 

I like all kinds of vegetables. (Not all kind, or 
kinda.) 

"Ue" and "Lay" 

Say: Don't say: 

The book lies on the The book lays on the 

table. table. 

He lay there for some He laid there quite 

time. a while. 

I am going to lie I am going to lay 

down. down. 

I was lying down I was laying down 

when you called. when you called. 

I lay on the bed last I laid down on the 

night. bed last night. 

I had just lain down I had just laid down 

when you called . when you called. 

Note: Lie means to rest. Its principal 
parts are : Present — lie, past — lay, present parti- 
ciple, — lying, past participle — lain. Lay means 
to cause something to rest. Its principal parts 
are: Present — lay, past — laid, present participle 
— laying, past participle — laid. 

''Lie/' meaning to repose or rest 

Drill 

I shall lie down a while. 

You are lying down. 

He is lying down. 

I lay (past time) down, or, I was lying down. 

You lay (past time) down, or, you were lying 
down. 



252 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

He lay down for a short time, or, he was lying 
down for a short time. 

I have lain down. 

You have lain down. 

It or he has lain down. 

"Lay," to cause to Ke 

Drill 

I shall lay the book on the table. 
You lay the book on the table. 
He lays the book on the table. 
Past Time 

I laid the book on the table. 
You laid the book on the table. 
He laid the book on the table. 
I have laid the book on the table. 
You have laid the book on the table. 
He had laid the book on the table. 

Correct uses of lay^ meaning to cause 
to rest 

Lay the child on the bed. 

He laid the book on the table. 

He had laid the book down before you came in. 

I have laid the clothes away. (Not lain,) 

"Sit'' and "Set'' 

Say: Don't say: 

The dress sits well. The dress sets well. 

The vase sits in the The vase sets in the 
corner. corner. 

Note: Set means to cause to sit; hence it 
is incorrectly used when referring to the state of 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 253 

being at rest. Observe in this connection that 
one sets a hen, and that the hen sits on her nest 
after she has been set. 

Drill 

The chair sits near the table. 

The lamp sits on the table. 

The piano sits in the parlor. 

John sits on the bench. 

Rome sits on its seven hills. 

The building does not sit level since the earth- 
quake shook the city. 

Note: Much trouble in the use of the word 
sit arises in the wrong impression many people 
have that only animate things may sit. Inani- 
mate things may sit, — i. e., rest as well as persons. 

Agreement in Nuniber 

Say: Don't say: 

If any one wishes to If any one wishes to 

make a suggestion, make a sugges- 

I wish he (or she, tion, I wish they 

or he or sJ^e) would would do so now. 
do so now. 

Note: The pronoun one must agree with its 
antecedent in number. 

Say: Don't say: 
Each one of the stu- Each one of the stu- 
dents has his (or dents have their 
her) own room. own room. 

Drill 

If any one wishes to bring a contribution, he 
may do so. (Not they.) 



254 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Everybody must bring his paper and pencil. 
(Not their.) 

Each was asked to cast his vote. (Not their.) 

I wish that every person here would give his 
attention to the matter in hand. (His or her, not 
their.) 

Some one has left his or her books in the cloak 
room. (Not their.) 

Will some one give his opinion with regard to 
this matter? (Not their.) 

Use of "Were" 

The correct use of the word "were" is of 
great importance. It must not be neglected if 
one wishes to have accuracy, precision, good taste, 
and finish characterize one's speech. Its use is 
simple, and a little careful study should enable one 
to use it correctly nearly always. 

Say: Don't say: 

I wish I were. 1 wish I was. 

Rule: The subjunctive form were (or had 

been) should be used after the expression of a 

wish. 

Drill 
I wish that I were going. (Not was.) 
1 wish that he were going. (Not was.) 
I wish that she were here. (Not was.) 
I wish that the train were on time. (Not was.) 
I wish the library were open each evening 
after seven. (Not was.) 

I wish that this piano were in tune. (Not 
was.) 

I wish that I were there. (Not was.) 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 255 

Do you wish that your mother were here? 
(Not was.) 

Does he wish that I were with him? (Not 
was.) 

Does she still wish that she were in Europe? 
(Not was.) 

Ruth wishes that she were a writer. (Not 
was.) 

She wishes that she were a school teacher, 
(Not was.) 

Note : In the foregoing sentences the words, 
but I (he or she) am not (or is not) , can be added 
to express the meaning of the wishing more fully. 
For example, "I wish that I were he (but I am 
not he) ." '*l wish that she were here (but she is 
not here) ." 



a 



ir with "were^' and "was" 

Note: If I was, (he, she, or it was) is cor- 
rect when the words, "And I (he, she, or it) was" 
may be supplemented; "If I (he, she, or it) 
were," when the words "but I am not," (he, she 
or it, is not), can be supplemented. In other 
words, were is used when the if clause expresses 
something contrary to fact and was or is is used 
when something in accordance with fact is ex- 
pressed. 

Drill 

If I were in the wrong (but I am not), I 
should make an apology. 

If he were in the wrong (but he is not), he 
would make an apology. 

If she were in the wrong (but she is not), she 
would make an apology. 



256 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

If I was in the wrong (and I was, or you say 
that I was), why, I ask your forgiveness. 

If he was in the wrong (and it is evident that 
he was), he has atoned for his misconduct. 

If she was in the wrong (and I assume that 
she was), she will make an apology. 

Observe the difference in the following sen- 
tences. 

If the book was in the library (and it was), 
why did you not get it? 

If the book were in the library (but it is not) , 
I should get it. 

If your sister was at home (and you say that 
she was), why did you not see her? 

If your sister were at home (but she is not) , 
I should visit her. 

If the dish was cracked (and it was, or you 
say it was), why did you purchase it? 

If the cup were cracked (but it is not), I 
should take it back to the store. 

If the piano was out of tune (and it was), 
why did he not have it tuned ? 

If the piano were out of tune (but it is not) , 
he would have it tuned. 

"Who" and "Whom" 

Whom do you mean? (You do mean whom.) 

Whom shall we invite? (Not: Who shall we 
invite?) 

For whom is this? Whom is xhis for? (Not: 
Who is this for?) 

From whom is this letter? or. Whom is this 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 257 

letter from? (Not: Who is this letter from?) 

Whom can you recommend for the position? 
(Not: Who can you recommend?) 

Note: In the foregoing sentences, whom is 
always in the objective case, but in the following 
sentences, who and not tvhom should be used, for 
who is the subject of a verb in each sentence. 
A little care and practise will enable one to dis- 
tinguish the difference readily. 

Drill 

This is the man who, I think, will do the work 
for you. (Not whom. . . . Who is the subject 
of the verb, ''will do'') 

John is the boy who, I believe, won the prize. 
(Not whom . • . Who is nominative, being the sub- 
ject of won.) 

The Turks are the people who, it is thought, 
massacred the Christians in that province. (Not 
whom.. .Who is the subject of massacred.) 

"My", "Your", "His", "Our", "Their" 

Drill 

There is no use in my remaining. (Not me 
remaining.) 

There is no use in his writing. (Not him 
writing.) 

There is no use in our going. (Not us going.) 

There is no use in their remaining. (Not 
them remaining.) 

I told her all about my being invited to the 
supper. (Not me being.) 

Y.H.Y.C.-17. t . :.^ 



258 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

I told her all about your being invited to the 
supper. (Not you being.) 

I told her all about our being invited to the 
wedding. (Not us being.) 

I cannot account for my being misled in the 
matter. (Not me being.) 

Have you found any objections to my going? 
(Not me going.) 

What is the use of your troubling yourself 
about it? (Not you troubling.) 

What is the use of his troubling himself about 
it? (Not him troubling.) 

^*MyseIf^^ "Yourself", "Himself", "Ourselves", 
"Yourselves", "Themselves" 

Rule: Use myself, yourself, himself, our- 
selves, yourselves, themselves, only in a reflex- 
ive or an emphatic sense. 

Note : In its reflexive use, the pronoun re- 
flects upon the speaker, the person spoken to, or 
the person spoken of. In its emphatic use, it 
calls especial attention to the speaker, the per- 
son spoken to, or the person spoken of. 

Drill 

Reflexive Use 
I hurt myself. (I, myself.) 
He hurt himself. (He, himself.) 
You hurt yourself. (You, yourself.) 
We hurt ourselves laughing. (Vv^e, ourselves.) 

Emphatic Use 
I myself said so. (I, myself.) 
You yourself said so. (You, yourself.) 
He himself said so. (He, himself.) 
We ourselves said so. (We, ourselves.) 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 259 

Say: Don't say: 

This is for me This is for myself. 

This is for him. This is for himself. 

This is for them. This is for them- 

selves. 

"Any place" and "Anywhere" 

Say : Don't say : 
I can't find it any- I can't find it any- 
where, place. 
I am going some- I am going some 
where today. place today. 

Note: Place i^ a noun and should not be 
used adverbially, as above,- without a preposition. 
Place may be used with a preposition; as, "I 
saw the book in some place/' or, I can't find it 
in any place at all." One may say, *1 am going 
to some place," or, I am going somewhere.'' '*I 
can't find it in any place," or, "I can't find it 
anywhere." 

Drill 

Are you going anywhere Friday? (Not place.) 
He is somewhere in Europe. (Not place.) 
He is in some place in Europe. (Note the 

preposition in.) 

John has been everywhere looking for you. 

(Not every^ place.) 

John has been in every place looking for you. 

(Note the in.) 

I have not seen him anywhere today. (Not 

any place.) 



260 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

"Healthy" and "Healthful" 

Say: Don't say: 

Oranges are health- Oranges are 

ful. healthy. 

The climate of Los The climate of Los 
Angeles is health- Angeles is 

ful. healthy. 

Drill 
The food the natives in that section live on is 
very healthful. (Or wholesome, not healthy.) 
These pears are healthful. (Not healthy.) 
Milk is a healthful food for babies. (Not 
healthy.) 

Many patent breakfast foods on the market 
are not as healthful as their manufacturers say 
they are. (Not healthy.) 

But: John is strong and healthy. (Not 
healthful.) 

She is in a healthy condition. (Not healthful.) 

"Apt" and "Likely" 

Note: Apt is an adjective and must not 
be used for likely which is an adverb. 

Say: Don't say: 

It is likely to rain to- It is apt to rain to- 
day, day. 

The train is likely to The train is apt to 

be late. be late. 

The ocean is likely to The ocean is apt to 

be stormy at this be stormy at this 

time of the year time of the year. 

Correct use of Apt: Henry is an apt pupil 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 261 

"Safe" and "Safely" 

Say: Don't say: 

I arrived safe. I arrived safely. 

Note: One may say, **I traveled safely'' or 
"I journeyed safely'' because safely is an adverb 
and describes the manner of the journey or travel- 
ing, but when the journeying or traveling is over, 
one must use the adjective safe to describe the 
condition of the traveler himself. 

"Like" and "As if" 

Say: Don't say: 

It looks as if it were It looks like it was 

all right. all right. 

Note: Were and not was should be used 
after as if, for the reason that as if denotes a 
supposition regarding something not definitely 
established. One should avoid looks like for 
looks as if, and seems like for seems as if. 

Drill 

The work looks as if it were ready for inspec- 
tion. (Not looks like it was.) 

Mary looks as if she were going to be ill. (Not 
looks like she was.) 

You look as if you were going somewhere. 
(Not look like you was.) 

He looks as if he had been playing in the mud. 
(Not looks like.) 

Correct use of "looks like" in comparisons: 

He looks like his mother. 

That looks like a piece of glass. 

His face looks like a new moon. 



262 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Note : In the above sentences in which com- 
parisons are made, the word unto may be used 
as a test for the proper use of looks like. He 
looks like his mother," means, "He looks like unto 
his mother/' The preposition unto is understood 
in each instance. 

"As'' for "That" 

Say: Don't say: 

I do not know that I I do not know as I 

do. do. 

"Be ]>ack" for "Come back" 

Say: Don't say: 

I shall come back in a I'll be back in a min- 

' niinute.' ute. 

John will come back John will be back 

i^fhc be here) to- to-pprrbw. 

inorrbw. ^ ^''' 

Will you come back Will you be back by 
(or be here) be- nine o'clock? 

fore nine o'clock? 

"Without" for "Unless" 

Say: Don't say: 

You must not go un- You must not go 
less you take your without you take 

umbrella. your umbrella. 

"Relation" for "Relative" 

Say: Don't say: 

He is a relative of He is a relation of 
mine. mine. 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 263 



I saw a number of I saw a number of 
his relatives. his relations. 

All his relatives and All his relations and 
friends came in. friends came in. 

Relative is better because relation has various 
other meanings besides relative. 



"Try and'' for "Try to" 

Say: Don't say: 

Try to come to-mor- Try and come to- 
row, morrow. 

I will try to be with I will try and be 
you early. with you early. 

"Ougjit" and "Should" 

RuiiE: Use ought tq express moral obliga- 
tion, sAo2iW to express any drdinary duty or con- 
tingency. 

Drill 

Men ought always to pray and not to faint. 

You ought not to use such language. 

He ought not to give way to discouragement. 

We ought to help one another. 

He should finish that work early. 

Johnny should prepare his lessons in time. 

You should not be so careless. 



264 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

"Providing" for "Provided" 

Say: Don't say: 

I will come, provided I will come, provid- 
I get ready in time. ing I get ready 

in time. 
Drill 

We will go with you, provided mother will 
give permission. (Not providing.) We shall go to 
the mountains, provided the weather is fair. (Not 
providing.) Mary will go along, provided there 
is room in the automobile. (Not providing.) I 
will buy it for you, provided I have enough money 
left over. (Not providing.) 

Note: Providing is correctly used in the 
following sentence: 

Mr. Smith is providing his family a comfort- 
able living. 

"ShaU" and "Will" 

Rule: To express simple futurity or a con- 
dition beyond the control of the will, use shall in 
the first person, will in the second and third. To 
express promise, willingness, or determination, 
use will in the first person, shall in the second 
and third. 

Drill 

Simple futurity in the first person: 
I shall not go, if the weather is stormy. 
We shall see Aunt Mary this evening. 
We shall expect him to-morrow. 
Simple futurity in the second and third per- 
sons : 

He will call next month. 



CORRECT ENGLISH EXERCISES 265 

She will go to the city to-morrow. 
Mr. Smith will come home to-day. 
Condition beyond the control of the will : 
I should like to hear her play. (Not would.) 
I should like to go with you. (Not would.) 
I shall be obliged to return early next week. 

<Not will.) 

I shall be disappointed if he does not come. 

<Not will.) 

We shall be glad to have you with us again 
soon. (Not will.) 

Promise or determination: 
We will help you all we can. 
I will not be troubled by that man any more. 
We will not give one inch to the enemy. 
We will do this for you this evening. 
You shall not remain under any circum- 
stances. 

He shall have all he wants to eat. 
He shall go, and go quickly. 
You shall do as I say. 

"After having" 

Say: Don't say: 

Having seen him, we After having seen 
left the house. him, we left the 

house. 

Having read the After having read 

book, my opinion the book, my opin- 

was changed. ion was changed. 

Note: After is superfluous with having in 
constructions of this kind : 



266 YOU? HOME YOUE COIJUSGB 

"Other Alternative" 

Say: Don't say: 

There is no alterna' There is no other 

tive. alternative. 

Note: Other is superfluous with alternative 
in the sentence above. 

"Agreement in Number*' 

Say: Don't say: 

Any one of these pat- Any one of these pat- 
terns is suitable. terns are suitable. 

Note: The subject must agree in number 
with its verb. 

Drill 

Each of the apples in the basket is ripe 
(Each is.) 

Every one of these trees is bare this year. 
(One is.) 

Every one of my friends is coming. (One is.) 



PART IV 
LETTER WRITING 

There are several distinct parts to the ordi- 
nary letter: 

The Heading, 

The Inside Address, 

The Salutation, 

The Body of the Letter, 

The Formal Closing, 

The Signature. 

The Heading includes the address of the 
writer and the date of the writing. The address 
should come before or precede the date. 

Incorrect: July 14, 1919. 

Oatisville, Ohio. 

Correct: Oatisville, Ohio, July 14, 1919. 

In studying these forms, note carefully the 
punctuation. A common mistake is to use peri- 
ods where commas are required. 

The address in the heading should be suffi- 
ciently complete for a postal direction, such as 
one would place on the outside of an envelope. 

Correct: 232 Adams Street, 

Chicago, Illinois. 



268 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

A street direction in an address should pre- 
cede the name of the town or city. 

Incorrect: Columbus, Ohio, 

27 Park Street. 



Correct: 27 Park Street, 

Columbus, Ohio. 

A house number should be written in Ara- 
bic figures and should be introduced by no word 
or sign. 

Incorrect: Fifteen B Street. 

Incorrect : No. 15 B Street. 

Correct: 15 B Street. 

If the street number is less than one hundred 
it should be spelled out. 

Correct: 250 Forty-second Street. 

In writing a street direction. Street or Ave- 
nue should not be omitted. 

Correct: 18 Main Street. 

Broadway is an exception, as the street is nat- 
urally implied in the "way'' part of the word. 

The date should consist of the name (not the 
number) of the month, the number of the day of 
the month, and the complete number of the year. 

Correct: March 21, 1919. 

Inelegant: 3|21|'19. 



LETTER WRITING 269 

All of the numbers in the date should be writ- 
ten in Arabic figures and not represented by 
words. 

Incorrect: March the twenty-first, 

nineteen hundred and eight. 

It is a good rule not to use abbreviations in 
the heading. It may be permissible to use them 
in business letters where time and brevity are im- 
portant considerations, but it is more dignified 
and decorous to avoid them almost invariably. 

Undesirable: Norton, Mass., Jan. 3, 1919. 

Correct: Norton, Massachusetts, 

January 3, 1919. 

The complete heading, if short, may be writ- 
ten on one line. The date should be written 
alone on a separate line, if two lines are neces- 
sary. If three lines are required, the street ad- 
dress should be written on the first line, the name 
of the city and state on the second, and the date 
on the third. 

Write the heading at the beginning of the 
letter at the right side of the page. 

Correct: Jonesboro, Ohio, January 3, 1923. 

Incorrect: 21 North Street, 

Carson, Ohio, June 18, 1913.. 

Correct: 27 John Street, Hartley, Ohio, 

June 16, 1917. 



270 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Correct: 1845 Champa Street, 

Denver, Colorado, 
January 5, 1923. 

In the above address, note the comma after 
Street, after Denver, after Colorado, and the pe- 
riod after 1923. 

THE SALUTATION 

The following are correct salutations for 
business letters: 

Dear Sir: 
My dear Sir: 
Gentlemen : 
Dear Madam: 
My dear Madam: 
Ladies : 

(Salutations with ''My'' are more formal and 
ceremonious than those without it.) 

Do not use Messrs. as a salutation. 

Incorrect : 

F. C. Smith and Company, 
Boston. 

Messrs. — 



Correct : 

Messrs. F. C. Smith and Company, 
Boston, Massachusetts. 

Gentlemen : 



LETTER WRITING 271 

The following are correct salutations for let- 
ters of friendship : 

Dear Sir: 

My dear Sir: 

My dear Mr. Smith, 

My dear John, 

Dear Miss Wells, 

Dear Mr. Mills, 

One should not write the name alone as a salu- 
tation. 



Improper : 



Fairfield, Me., Sept. 4, 1918. 



Mr. Robert Harris: — 

Please inform me. 



Correct : 

Fairfield, Maine, 
September 4, 1918. 

My dear Mr. Harris, 

Will you please inform me 



THE INSIDE ADDRESS 

The street direction may be omitted from the 
inside address, but it is preferable to include it in 
business letters of which duplicates or carbon 
copies are kept. By referring to a duplicate in 
which the address appears, one may tell where 
one's letter was sent, and such duplicates often 
serve as a convenient directory. 



272 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Either of the following is correct: 

The Marlborough Publishing Company, 

New York City. 
Gentlemen : 

Mr. John Thompson, 
3482 Pengrove Avenue, 
Hartford, Connecticut. 

One should not write a name alone above the 
salutation. 



Improper : 

Mr. Henry Hart, 
My dear Sir: 

In business letters the inside address should 
stand above the salutation; in letters of friend- 
ship, and in some business letters not dealing with 
mercantile transactions, it should stand at the 
bottom of the letter at the left side of the page 
and not above the salutation. 



THE FORMAL CLOSING 

The following are correct for closing business 
letters : 

Yours truly, 
Yours very truly, 
Very truly yours, 
Yours respectfully, 



LETTER WRITING 273 

The following are correct for closing letters 
of friendship: 

Yours very truly, 
Yours sincerely, 

Such expressions introducing the formal clos- 
ing, as, "I am," "believe me," *'good-by," should 
keep their regular positions in the body of the 
letter. 

Example : 

Accept my congratulations upon 
your new appointment; and believe 
me 

Yours sincerely, 

John Brown, 
CORRECTLY WRITTEN BUSINESS LETTERS 

508 Thirteenth Street, 
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 
February 17, 1928. 

The Underwood Typov/riter Company, 
30 Vesey Street, 
New York City. 

Gentlemen : 

I have your letter of December 
29. Allow me to say in reply that the 
machines have been received in good con- 
dition. 

Yours truly, 
Philip Morse. 



Y.H.Y.C.— 18. 



274 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

87 Gilmore Avenue, 
Chicago, Illinois, 
June 30, 1920. 

The Hope Publishing Company, 
Dartmouth, New Jersey. 

Gentlemen : 

Find enclosed a check for ten 
dollars ($10.00), for which please send 
me one set of Arlington's Works as ad- 
vertised in the "Boston Book Review.'' 

Yours sincerely, 

John Hartley. 

Pennsgrove, New Jersey, 
R. F. D. 2, 
January 16, 1918. 

The Liberty Publishing Company, 
Aimesville, Ohio. 

Gentlemen : 

Find enclosed a postal order 
for one dollar and fifty cents ($1.50), 
which please apply on my subscription 
to the "Weekly School Journal." 

Yours sincerely, 

Albert Hoffman. 



LETTER WRITING 275 

Leadville, Colorado, 
December 31, 1924. 

Montgomery Ward and Company, 
Chicago, Illinois. 

Gentlemen : 

Find enclosed a postal order 
for ten dollars and seventy-three cents 
($10.73), for which please ship me one 
wash-stand, No. 3796, as listed in your 
general catalogue. 

Yours truly, 

Peter Finnegan. 

CORRECTLY WRITTEN LETTERS OP 
FRIENDSHIP 

Murray Hill Hotel, 
New York City, 
November 8, 1926. 

My dear Mr. Jones, 

The book about which you in- 
quire is Mary Porter's ''Adventures in 
the Rockies," published by Johnson, 
Smith and Company, New York City. 
Yours sincerely, 

Bessie Tildon. 
Mr. George H. Jones, 
1943 Smithfield Street, 
Buffalo, New Yorlc. 



276 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Zarephath, New Jersey, 
August 3, 1920, 

Dear Mrs. Smith, 

I received your kind letter of 
August 1. We were very much pleased 
to hear that you plan to be with us over 
the coming Sabbath. 

Hoping that nothing may interfere 
with your plans, and awaiting the pleas- 
ure of seeing you soon, I am 

Yours sincerely, 

Mary Jones. 
Mrs. L. M. Smith, 
148 Clark Street, 
East Orange, New Jersey. 

THE USE OF "F' 

It is well to guard against the common fault 
of the monotonously frequent use of "I" in let- 
ters. One should not, however, in order to avoid 
its use, omit it, as, "Have been here four days. 
Should like to see you at Yarmouth when I get 
there. Will try to see Jones for you," etc. The 
awkwardness of using "F' is considered prefer- 
able to the above style. To avoid the repetition 
of "I," one should practise variety of sentence 
structure. 

FORMAL NOTES IN THE THIRD PERSON 

Formal notes written in the third person have 
no heading, no salutation, no formal closing, no 



LETTER WRITING 277 

inside address, and no signature. One should 
not use the pronouns / or you. Note the fol- 
lowing examples: 

Correct : 

Mrs. Southerland requests the 
pleasure of Miss Smith's company at 
dinner on Friday, May the second, at 
seven o'clock. 

935 Eutaw Avenue, 
April the twenty-fifth. 

Correct : 

Miss Smith accepts with pleasure 
Mrs. Southerland's invitation to dinner 
on May the second. 

1720 Princeton Avenue, 
April the twenty-sixth. 

Improper : 

573 Anderson Ave., 
Bismark, Ohio, 
Jan. 15, '19. 

Mr. Simmons regrets that he will 
not be able to accept your invitation for 
Jan. 20. Severe illness will make it im- 
possible for me to come. 

Yours truly, 
Jonathan Simmons. 



278 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Correct ; 

Mr. Simmons regrets that, on ac- 
count of illness, he is unable to accept 
Mr. and Mrs. Harmon's invitation for 
January the twentieth. 

573 Anderson Avenue, 
January the fifteenth. 

LETTER PAPER 

Four-page letter paper is suitable for com- 
mercial, professional, or social correspondence, 
and for the letters of private individuals as dis- 
tinguished from those of business firms and of 
men in public office. In general, four-page letter 
writing paper is preferable to flat sheets, the 
use of which is best confined to business or pro- 
fessional correspondence. Except in cases of 
emergency, v/riting-paper that is ruled, or limp 
and flimsy in texture, should not be used. 

INK 

The proper ink for letter writing is black or 
fluid that turns black. 

LETTER FOLDING 

When in using four-page letter paper, three 
or four pages are required for the substance of 
the letter, they should be written on in their 
natural order, — viz., 1, 2, 3, 4 ; not in the order 1, 
4, 2, 3, or 1, 3, 2, 4. Thus a four-page letter is 
read as one would read a book, the pages being 
numbered in book order. When the substance 
of the letter occupies but two pages, the first and 
third pages may be written on, the second left 



LETTER WRITING 279 

blank. If only one page is required, it should 
be the first one with 2, 3, 4 left blank. 

Four-page letter paper should be folded so 
that the upper and lower portions of page 1 will 
come together. Envelopes of the same material 
should be used and the letter placed so that the 
horizontal crease is at the bottom of the envelope 
and the original vertical crease at the left hand 
of a person looking at the sealed side of the en- 
velope. 

When flat sheets of paper are used (approxi- 
mately 6x8 inches in size) and placed in en- 
velopes of commercial size (approximately 3I/2 
X 61/2 inches), they should be folded into three 
sections. As the letter lies right side up on the 
table, raise the lower part and fold it upward 
over the middle part, making a horizontal crease 
about one-third of the distance from the bottom 
to the top; next, raise the upper part and fold 
it downward, making a horizontal crease about 
one-fourth of the distance from the top to the 
bottom. The letter so folded should be placed 
in the envelope with the two flaps next to the 
sealed side, with the smaller flap on top of the 
larger one, and with the outward edge of the 
smaller flap pointing upward. 

The general practise should be to write on 
only one side of the paper when flat sheets are 
used. 

Flat sheets of paper of full commercial size 
(approximately 8 x 11 inches), should be folded 
and placed in commercial envelopes according to 
the following : As the letter lies face up, raise 
the lower part and fold it upward over the upper 
part with a horizontal crease running slightly 



S80 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

below the center. Thus the two edges will not 
come together exactly at the top, but the bottom 
edge of the paper will lie anywhere from a quar- 
ter of an inch to an inch below the top edge. Next, 
raise the right-hand part and fold it toward the 
left, making a vertical crease about one-third 
of the distance from right to left. Then raise 
the left-hand part and fold it toward the right, 
making a vertical crease about one-fourth of the 
distance from left to right. Place the letter in the 
envelope with the two flaps next to the sealed side 
of the envelope, with the smaller flap on top of 
the larger one, and with the outward edge of 
the smaller flap pointing upward. Note: In an 
envelope of oflftcial size — approximately 4 x 10 
inches, — ^the letter should be folded and enclosed 
according to the instructions given above for flat 
sheets 6x8 inches in size. 

THE ENVELOPE 

One must take care not to detract from the 
merits of a well written letter by neglecting the 
general appearance of the envelope. 

Letters often go astray because the address 
has been poorly written and particularly because 
of the careless use of abbreviations for the names 
of the states. There is a marked similarity in 
the abbreviations of many states and the thought- 
less writer is often unaware of the confusion he 
may cause in poorly forming but one small let- 
ter. *'Md.'' is often taken for "Mo."; "Me." for 
"Mo."; "Penn." for Tenn."; "Col." for "Cal.", 
etc. It is better to avoid the use of abbreviations 
on the outside of the envelopes almost altogether 
if one wishes to make sure of quick and certain 
delivery. 



LETTER WRITING 



281 



Undesirable : 



Correct : 



Or: 



Correct : 



Thos. Marshall, 
c|o Gen. Wm. Law, 
1523 Glenarm St., 
Denver, 

Col. 



Mr. Thomas Marshall, 
In care of General William Law, 
1523 Glenarm Street, 
Denver, Colorado. 



Mr. Thomas Marshall, 

In care of General William Law, 
1523 Glenarm Street, 
Denver, Colorado. 



The Reverend Martin Hughes,^ 
368 Putman Avenue, 
Rosedale, 

California. 



(While many people prefer to write simply 
Eev. Martin Hughes, the best authorities contend 
for the above form.) 

It is permissible to write the address on an 
envelope without any marks of punctuation at 
the ends of the lines. If punctuation is em- 
ployed, a period should be placed at the end of the 
last line and a comma at the end of each preced* 
ing line. 



282 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Right: 

Professor Henry D. Lennington 
1436 Putman Avenue 
Woonsocket, Rhode Island 

Right: 

Doctor Martin Sinclair, 
Hotel Astoria, 
Atlantic City, 
New Jersey. 

THE POSTAGE STAMP 

A postage stamp placed on the envelope up- 
side down or affixed with its edges out of parallel 
to the edge of the envelope, is likely to give an 
impression of carelessness and slovenliness on the 
part of the sender of the letter. 



PART V 
CLEANING AND PRESSING CLOTHES 

There are numerous good cleansing prepara- 
tions on the market, but a little soap and warm 
water applied with a hand brush will do as much 
as some of the best of them. Soapbark, which 
costs very little at the drug store, is an excellent 
clothes cleaner. A tablespoonful of concen- 
trated ammonia in a quart of warm water with a 
little soap is another. Strong, undiluted am- 
monia directly applied to the fabric will destroy 
the color. Gasoline should not be used for clean- 
ing unless the garment is entirely immersed in 
it to prevent rings appearing on the cloth. Grease 
spots of any kind are difficult to remove, espe- 
cially after they have been allowed to remain in 
the fabric for some time. They should be at- 
tended to immediately, before they are forgotten, 
and neglected. 

One woman suggests the following for remov- 
ing grease spots from black cloth: ^'Grease may 
be removed by sponging with salt dissolved in 
alcohol in the proportion of one to four. When 
dry, cover with a dark woolen cloth which has. 
previously been slightly dampened, and press 
with a hot iron.'' 

A suit of clothes that has been moistened con- 
siderably in the process of cleaning should be 
allowed to dry well before it is pressed. The 

283 



284 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

pressing cloth should invariably be of heavy ma- 
terial like ticking or canvas. If the suit is badly 
wrinkled it should be ''dry pressed" first in the 
following way: Place the suit on an ironing 
board or form, lay the pressing cloth over it and 
.sponge lightly with water ; apply a hot iron with 
a good deal of pressure and iron the cloth dry. 
A heavy iron like a tailor's goose gives best re- 
sults. Pressure rather than so much rubbing is 
required. It is possible to scorch light serge with 
too hot an iron even though the pressing cloth 
does not show signs of being burned. Light 
serge is usually pressed on the wrong side. Care 
should be taken to keep the iron at the right tem- 
perature, not too much heat or too little. 

The dry pressing takes out the wrinkles, 
.stiffens the goods, and gives a garment its shape. 
After the dry pressing, the goods may be some- 
what glossy in appearance. They should then be 
brushed and given a second pressing. Dampen 
the pressing cloth well this time and press, but 
do not iron the pressing cloth entirely dry. 
Some steam must be left in the cloth to prevent 
it from becoming shiny. Some tailors pound the 
garment with a flat board to keep it from turn- 
ing glossy. It should be brushed well again to 
bring the nap out. Dry pressing is not always 
necessary. In keeping a pair of trousers in 
shape that are not badly wrinkled, a little damp 
pressing on the inner side oi the legs of the trous- 
'^rs, brushing and stretching slightly, will suffice. 
Too frequent pressings are likely to shorten the 
life of a suit. 

The most difficult part of the pressing opera- 
tion is that which involves the shoulders and 
rsleeves of a coat. Pressmg boards made small 



CLEANING AND PRESSING CLOTHES 285 

and rounded at one end, and padded forms to fit 
into the shoulders of the coat make this part com- 
paratively easy. 

"In pressing coats, the upper part of the left 
back is placed first on the sleeve-board, w^hich 
enters the top of the sleeve. The iron is pressed 
on the damp cloth and immediately lifted, the 
damp cloth is removed, and the back of a flat- 
backed brush is brought dov^n heavily on the gar- 
ment, thus preventing the material from rising 
under the heat of the iron and the moisture used. 
The left shoulder and sleeve-head are next 
pressed, then the right, doing a small portion at 




a time, and allowing each part to pass upwards as 
it is finished till the bottom is reached ; the collar 
and fronts should be left till last. The left fore- 
part is pressed, then the right one in the same 
way. Next, lay the back lengthways along the 
sleeve-board, and press it in three or four parts. 
.... The sleeves are pressed first on the under 
sides and then the top sides; finally, the fronts, 
collar, and lapels are treated with extra carer 
they should be pressed on both the wrong and 
right sides of the coat." 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 

THOSE who desire to study further the sub- 
jects introduced in this volume will find val- 
uable information and instruction for some of 
them in the following books. 

Some publishers have advised against insert- 
ing prices in the list owing to the fact that there 
has been considerable fluctuation in the same re- 
cently. I have decided to include them, how- 
ever, in most instances, but I do not guarantee 
them. 

It will be noticed that a number of these 
books may be obtained from The Bible League, 
Zarephath, New Jersey. 

CHAPTER II 

Keeping Physically Fit, Cromie; Macmillan Co., 
New York. $1.35. 

CHAPTER III 

Mind and Work, Gulick ; Doubleday, Page & Co., 
Garden City, N. Y. 

The New Housekeeping, Frederick; Doubleday, 
Page & Co., Garden City, N. Y. $1.75. 

286 

CHAPTER IV 

Assimilative Memory, Loisette; Funk & Wag- 
nails, New York. $2.50. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 287 

CHAPTER V 

Efficient Life, Gulick; Doubleday, Page & Co., 
Garden City, N. Y. 

CHAPTER IX 

Good Manners for all Occasions, Sangster; 
Cupples & Leon Co., New York. $1.50. 

CHAPTER X 

The Correct English Drill Book, Baker; Evans- 
ton, 111. $1.50. 

CHAPTER XI 

Complete Compendium of the Zaner Method of 
Arm Movement Writing; Zaner & Bloser Co., 
Columbus, Ohio. $.25. 

Those who wish to improve their penmanship 
will be interested in this excellent book of instruc- 
tions. 

Handbook of Composition, Woolley; D. C. Heath 
& Co., New York and Chicago. $1.08. 

This book is used in schools and colleges every- 
where in the United States. Every one who wishes 
•to learn how to write good English should have a 
copy in his possession. 

Century Handbook of Writing, Greever and Jones ; 
Century Co., New York. $1.00. 

This and the following are two excellent books on 
English composition. 

Written English, Erskine; Century Co., New 
York. $.70. 

Typists' Guide, From Sight to Touch; Under- 
wood Typewriter Co., New York. 



288 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

Touch Method Typewriter Instructor; Reming- 
ton Typewriter Co., N. Y. 

The above two typewriter instruction books may 
be obtained free of charge. 

A Practical Course in Touch Typewriting, Smith ; 
Isaac Pitman & Sons, New York. $.50. 

This is a standard instruction book in typewriting, 
used in business colleges. 

CHAPTER XIII 

The Story of Phaedru^, or How We Got the 
Greatest book in the World, Hillis ; Macmillan 
Co., New York. $1.50. 

How We Got Our Bible, Smyth; James Pott & 
Co. $1.00. 
Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 

The Life of St. Paul, Stalker; F. H. Revell Co. 
New York and Chicago. $.90. 
Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 

Life and Epistles of Paul, Conybeare and How- 
son; S. S. Scranton Co., Hartford, Conn. 
$3.25. 

This is the classical work on the life of the Apos- 
tle Paul, considered a valuable aid for students who 
wish to make an intensive study of the life of Paul. 

The New Testament in Modern Speech, Wey- 
mouth; The Pilgrim Press. 
Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 

Translation of the New Testament from the 

Original Greek, Godbey; Revivalist. $1.50. 

Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 



BIBLIOGRAPHY 289 

CHAPTER XIV 

American History, Muzzey; Ginn & Co., New 

York. $1.96. 
History of the United States, Beard; Macmillan 

Co., New York. $1.96. 
Ancient History, Myers; Ginn & Co., New York. 

$1.92. 
Medieval and Modern History, Myers; Ginn & 

Co., New York. $2.00. 
A Short History of England, Larson ; Henry Holt 

& Co., New York. $2.10. 
A Short History of England, Cheyney; Ginn & 

Co., New York. $1.96. 
Modern Europe, Hazen; Henry Holt & Co., New 

York. $2.12. 
Short History of the Christian Church, Hurst; 

Harper. $3.00. 

Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 
The Private Life of the Romans, Johnston ; Scott, 

Foresman & Co., New York. $2.00. 
Introduction to American Literature, Matthews; 

American Book Co., New York. $1.40. 

Halleck's New English Literature, Halleck; 
American Book Co., New York. $1.72. 

CHAPTER XV 

Outlines of Mu^ic History, Hamilton ; Oliver Dit- 
son Co., Boston, Mass. $2.25. 

A Guide to Mu^ic for Beginners and Others, Ma- 
son ; H. W. Gray Co., New York. $1.50. 

Mason writes in a style delightfully picturesque^.. 
Every music lover should read this book from the be- 
ginning through Chapter XVI on symphony concerts^. 

Y.H.Y.C— 19. ; 



290 YOUR HOME YOUR COLLEGE 

CHAPTER XVI 

Up From Slavery, Washington ; Doubleday, Page 
& Co., $1.90. 
Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 

CHAPTER XVn 

The Collapse of Evolution, Townsend; published 
by Frank Boyer. $.20. 

Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 
In His Image, Bryan ; F. H. Revell Co. $1.75. 

Sold by The Bible League, Zarephath, N. J. 

This very interesting book by William Jennings 
Bryan deals particularly with the theory of evolution, 
but its scope is broad, and every American citizen 
should be familiar with it. 

APPENDIX 

The Human Mechanism, Physiology, Hygiene 

and Sanitation, Hough and Sedgwick; Ginn & 

Co., New York. 
Fun and Health in Running Water, Curtainless 

Shower Co.; New York. (Free booklet.) 
JStrengthening the Eyes, Macfadden; Physical 

Culture Pub. Co., New York. 

This is a new course of twenty-eight lessons and 
takes the place of Macfadden's former book entitled, 
Strong Eyes. 

The Care of the Teeth, Brackett; Harvard Uni- 
versity Press, Cambridge, Mass. $1.00. 

Removal of Stains from Clothing and Other Tex^ 
tiles. Farmers' Bulletin No. 861. 

This may be obtained free by writing to the U. S. 
Dept. of Agriculture at Washington, D. C. 

THE END 







O 



•J 



ALMA COLLEGE 

ZAREPHATH, N. J. 

Bishop Alma White, A. M., Founder, 
Rev. Arthur K. White, A. M., Dean, 

Alma College was founded for the purpose of pro- 
moting the interests of Christian culture and educa- 
tion. It is one of the few 

Co-educational 

institutions of the eastern section of the United States. 
Our object is to inculcate in the hearts and minds of 
young men and women, along with their educational 
training, a profound respect for law and order as em- 
bodied in the administrations of our government, a 
deep regard for the sanctity of the home, which is the 
foundation stone of our American civilization, and a 
heartfelt reverence for the Bible and the religion of 
Jesus Christ. 

Alma College is accredited by the State Board of 
Education of New Jersey. 

Catalog giving full information as to requirements 
for entrance, courses, expense, etc., sent upon appli- 
cation. Address: 



Alma College, 



Zarephath, N. J. 



ZAREPHATH ACADEMY 

ZAREPHATH, N. J. 

Bishop Alma White, A. M., Founder, 
Rev. Arthur K. White, A. M., Dean, 

{Registered by the State Board of Education) 

A four years' Academy course is given in this 
school, preparing students for college. The work done 
is of a very high standard, equal to that of the best 
high schools in the state. 

Catalog giving full information sent free on ap- 
plication. 

Address : 

Zarephath Academy, Zarephath, N. J. 



ZAREPHATH BIBLE INSTITUTE 

ZAREPHATH, N. J. 

Bishop Alma White, A. M., Founder. 
Rev. Ray. B. White, A. M., President. 

Established for the training of preachers, evangel- 
ists, and missionaries. Free from the taint of higher 
criticism and evolution. A three or a four years' 
course of study, equipping the student for efficient 
service in the vineyard of the Lord. 

Catalog sent free on application. Address: 
Zarephath Bible Institute, Zarephath, N. J. 



WESTMINSTER COLLEGE, 

ACADEMY, and BIBLE INSTITUTE 

DENVER, COLO. 

(Church, 1847 Champa St., Denver, Colorado) 

Bishop Alma White, A. M., Founder. 
Rev. Ray B. White, A. M., President. 

This school, consisting of three departments. Col- 
lege, Academy, and Bible Institute, is conducted on 
the same general principles as the schools located at 
Zarephath, New Jersey. 

Situated on College Hill, a remarkable suburban 
promontory seyen miles from the business center of 
Denver, the Queen City of the West. A more ideal 
spot could not be found. The towering, snow-clad 
peaks of the Rockies for a distance of more than 
two hundred miles north and south are plainly vis- 
ible on the west, while the great plains stretch out 
toward the east. The views from the tower of the 
main building are indescribable. One of the most 
healthful spots to be found on the globe, and ex- 
traordinarily unique as a location for a Christian 
school. 

Write for catalog. 

Westminster College, 1845 Champa Street, 
Denver, Colorado. 



GALILEAN TRAINING 
SCHOOL 

LOS ANGELES, CAL. 



Bishop Alma White, A. M., Founder. 

Located a short distance from business center of 
the city of Los Angeles, California. Bible Institute, 
High School, and grade courses, given under compe- 
tent instructors. 

Established especially to reach young people liv- 
ing in the Pacific coast States who desire the advan- 
tages of Christian training in connection with the reg- 
ular school course. 

Galilean Training School, 1 185 E. Jefferson Street, 
Los Angeles, California. 



At this date (1922) grammar schools are being con- 
ducted by the Pillar of Fire organization at 6275 Rug- 
by Road, College Hill, Cincinnati, Ohio, and at 1416 
Market St., Jacksonville, Florida. We invite cor- 
respondence regarding these schools. Address as 
above, or write 



Pill 



ar o 



f Fi 



ire. 



Zarephath, N. J. 




Looking Back 
From Beulah 

Published in both English and German 
BY 

BISHOP ALMA WHITE 



Brief life of the author. Wonderful faith experi- 
ences. Seeking and finding holiness. Thousands 
have been comforted and strengthened by reading it 
and inspired to live holier lives. 

A MARVELOUS BOOK 

It shows what faith and obedience will bring to 
pass in the life of an individual. God still hears and 
answers prayer. 

SOME CHAPTER HEADINGS 

Conviction and Conversion — The Inward Conflict, Trials in 
School — ^Leaving Home — Teaching in Montana — at Home, in 
School, Overwork, Missionary in Utah, Testings — Last Year as a 
Teacher, a School Election, Trials and Triumphs — Denver, Mar- 
riage, Struggles Against Worldliness — Lamar, Pastor's Wife, Fur- 
nace of Affliction — A Mountain Charge, Heart-cry for Purity — 
Consecration and Sanctification — ^The Bible a New Book — ^Heal- 
ing for the Body, Revival Fires on the Erie Charge — The Boulder 
Conference, In Evangelistic Work, Bible Subjects and Comments 

Illustrated. 350 pages. Full cloth binding. 

Price, $1, postpaid. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



Books by Bishop Alma White 



THE STORY OF MY LIFE 

One of the most remarkable autobiographies ever 
written. Intensely fascinating ; neither didactic 
nor doctrinal. Shows God's providential dealings in 
the smallest details of the author's life. Inspires one 
to endure hardness for the cause of right. Words are 
inadequate to describe the contents of these volumes ; 
they must be read to be appreciated. 

Volume I 

Memoirs of the Author's Early Life — Pioneer Scenes — Civil 
War Experiences — Family Feuds — Religious Issues— Seminary 
Days — Leaving Home. 

Volume II 

Trials and Triumphs as Teacher in the "Far West" in the 
Days of Cowboys and Indians— Marriage — Conflicts and Suffer- 
ing to Uphold the Banner of Righteousness—Call to Evangelistic 
Work. 

Volume III 

Revival Meetings — ^Mission Work — Opening of Bible Training 
School — Opposition from Many Sources — Eventful Trip to the 
Pacific Coast — Organization of New Movement. 

These volumes are profusely illustrated with orig- 
inal drawings. Unique in their make-up. Hand- 
somely bound in cloth, stamped with gold. 

Prices, $1, $1.50 and $1, respectively. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



Books by Bishop Alma White 



THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH 

2 Volumes 

Deals with the vital doctrines of the New Testa- 
ment. In this materialistic age, people have well-nigh 
lost sight of what it means to be a Christian, but 
Christ has never been without a representative body— 
the true Church— on the earth. 



Where is That Church Today? 

What are its doctrines? What constitutes member- 
ship? Who are members? How do you live? How 
may one know when one finds the true Church? Are 
its members separate from the world? Should min- 
isters of the true Church preach for a salary? These 
and many other questions are fully dealt with in these 

Two Enlightening Volumes. 

Many people are led astray by false doctrines and 
delusions because they are not fully acquainted with 
the doctrines of the New Testament. Illustrated. 
Bound in cloth. 

Price, 50c each volume, postpaid. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



Books by Bishop Alma White 



THE CHOSEN PEOPLE 

This book is a spiritual gold mine. It gives the 
key to both the Old and the New Testament. A great 
aid to Bible study. 

''Hath God Cast Away His People?'' 

asked the apostle Paul, and then answered his own 
question by saying, "God forbid.'' Wonderful things 
are being worked out in behalf of the Jews at the 
present time. Prophecy is being fulfilled rapidly and 
soon the kingdoms of this earth will "become the 
kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ." 

320 pages. Full cloth. Price, 7Sc, postpaid. 



THE RESTORATION OF ISRAEL, THE 
HOPE OF THE WORLD 

This book treats of the Restoration of Israel 
from New Testament types. God's promises to His 
chosen people are being rapidly fulfilled. The time of 
their restoration is near at hand, as is also the coming 
of their King. Price, 60c, postpaid. 



Pillar of Fire, 



Zarephath, N. J. 



Books by Bishop Alma White 



THE TITANIC TRAGEDY— GOD SPEAKING 
TO THE NATIONS 

A book of prophecy. In this book, written two 
years before the outbreak of the European War, the 
author foretells what was coming to the nations, es- 
pecially to England and Germany. These predictions 
have been fulfilled literally. God v^^as speaking 
through the sinking of the Titanic and other disasters, 
but have 

The Nations Heeded the Warning? 

Many thousands of copies of this book have been 
sold both in the United States and England. It is 
more interesting now that its predictions are being 
fulfilled than when the sinking of the great vessel was 
fresh in the minds of the people. Illustrated. Cloth. 
Price, 50c, postpaid. 



MY TRIP TO THE ORIENT 

Egypt and Palestine as they are today. The peo- 
ple and their customs; the cities with their great 
mosques; the pyramids, ruins, museums, etc. 

Illustrated with sixty modern half-tones. Price, 
7Sc, postpaid. 



Pillar of Fire, 



Zarephath, N. J. 



Books by Bishop Alma White 



WITH GOD IN THE YELLOWSTONE 

A description of the author's trip through the 
Yellowstone National Park. You are awed, inspired, 
and blest as you follow the writer through the most 
"poetical, picturesque, and fascinating spot on the 
globe.'' Brings many deep spiritual lessons home 
to the reader's heart. Over 40 illustrations, 5 in 
colors. Price, 7Sc, postpaid. 

4lllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllllllllllllllllllilllllllllilillllllllllllllllllllllllllllll| 

WHY I DO NOT EAT MEAT 

Is it right to eat meat? Does the body really re- 
quire it? Was man originally carnivorous? etc., are 
some of the questions answered in a very convincing 
and enlightening way. Treats the subject from a 
hygienic, a moral, and a scriptural viewpoint. Illus- 
trated. Cloth. 224 pages. 

Price, SOc, postpaid. 

«IIMIIIIIIIIlllllIlllllllllIlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllBlltlllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllilllillllllllllllll 

GOLDEN SUNBEAMS 

A splendid book for young people. The impor- 
tance of a good book in the hands of those whose char- 
acters are being formed for life can not be estimated. 
If you are interested in the future welfare of your 
children or other young people, place Golden Sun- 
beams in their hands. Large, clearly printed pages. 
Fully illustrated. Strongly bound in cloth. 
Price, 70c, postpaid. 

Pillar of Pire, Zarephath, N. J. 



GEMS OF UFE 

By Bishop Alma White 

The children's book. Short, original stories and 
poems. Many of the incidents are from the author's 
early life. Thousands of children have read Gems of 
Life with delight and are the better for reading it. 
Should be in every home. Profusely illustrated. 
Price, 60c, postpaid. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



iiiniiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii> 

THE HARP OF GOLD 

This book is meeting with unparalleled success. 
It is deepening the Christian experiences of thousands. 
Just the thing for revivals. 

Nearly 100 of the 232 songs have never been pub- 
lished by any other society. Give it a trial. Price, 
bristol, 20c; cloth, 30c, postpaid. By the hundred, 
bristol, $15; cloth, $20, not prepaid. 

liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii^ 

THE PILLAR OF FIRE ILLUSTRATED 

Contains views of Zarephath and other Pillar of 
Fire holdings, a picture of Bishop Alma White, 
Founder, and thirty of the Ministers and Deacon- 
esses. Also a brief history of the Society. Price, 
postpaid, paper cover, $1; cloth, $1.10. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



By Other Authors 



A CHALLENGE FROM THE PULPIT 

By Rev. Ray B. White, A. M. 

Contains thirty-four of the author's latest and best 
sermons. A heart appeal to men and women. The 
following taken from a letter written to Mr. White 
by Dr. Henry van Dyke, of Princeton University, 
refers to this volume: 

"Dear Mr. White: 

This is just a line to thank you cordially for sending me 
your book of spirited sermons. That is the chosen word to 
describe them, for they are full of the spirit of faith, devotion, 
and courage. You speak of faults in them, — let me tell you, that 
is indeed a poor sermon in which the preacher does not feel that 
he has come short of the fullness of his high message." 

Illustrated. 240 pages. Price, $1, postpaid. 



Pillar of Fire, 



Zarephath, N. J. 



iiiiiiiiiaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiKiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii 

THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST 

By Bishop C. W. Bridwell, A. M. 

A very scholarly exposition of some of the most 
wonderful scriptures in the Word. Prophecy and the 
last days. Shows the trend of present events. Here- 
sies exposed. 300 pages. Price, $1.00. 

Pillar of Fire, 1845 Champa St., Denver, Colo. 



Periodicals 

PILLAR OF FIRE 

A sixteen-page journal devoted to salvation themes. 
It will help you in your every-day life. 

The sure way to heaven pointed out in every issue. 
Interesting and instructive articles on Justification, 
Sanctification, The Second Coming of Christ, and the 
Restoration of Israel. Sunday-school notes and chil- 
dren's page. Weekly. $1.25 a year. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



THE GOOD CITIZEN 

Devoted to the political, educational, and religious 
interests of the nations. Always on the side of right. 
It discusses Romanism, the White Slave Traffic, the 
Liquor Traffic, and other vital subjects, as no other 
journal published. Sixteen pages. 50c a year. 

The Good Citizen, Zarephath, N. J, 



PILLAR OF FIRE JUNIOR 

This paper is devoted to the interests of children 
and young people. Its columns are filled with helpful 
matter, and its mission is to feed the soul and help 
build Christian character. Sunday-school notes in 
simple language. Eight pages. Semi-monthly. SOc 
for 52 issues. 

Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



ROCKY MOUNTAIN PILLAR OF FIRE 

The articles contained in this journal feed the soul 
and inspire one to holy living. False doctrines and 
theories exposed, and the Word of God made plain. 
Published especially in the interests of the Pillar of 
Fire work in the Rocky Mountain region. 16 pages. 
Semi-monthly. $1.00 a year. 
Pillar of Fire, 1845 Champa St., Denver, Colo. 



OCCIDENTAL PILLAR OF FIRE 

A deeply spiritual paper, published in the interests 
of the Pillar of Fire work on the Pacific coast. Semi- 
monthly. Sixteen pages. Subscription price, $1.00 a 
year. Address, Pillar of Fire, 1185 E. Jefferson St., 
Los Angeles, California. 



LONDON PILLAR OF FIRE 

A full salvation monthly. Contains interesting ac- 
counts of the work in London. The heart-searching 
articles touch every phase of the Christian Hfe. 75c a 
year. Send orders to Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 

THE BRITISH SENTINEL 

Devoted to the interests of good government, re- 
ligious liberty, political and social purity. Points out 
the dangers confronting Great Britain and other na- 
tions. Published monthly in London. 75c a year. 
Send orders to Pillar of Fire, Zarephath, N. J. 



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